Tigress and her little panda
by 8Dwriter-in-training8D
Summary: The clock has been reversed for Po and poor Tigress is now asigned to be his babysitter while the rest of the five and Shifu leave the jade palace to find the source of Po's state! "Why me?" "Goo?" "Stop chewing on my tail Po!" "Goo-goo-ga!"
1. Chapter 1: Baby Po

**Raven: hi guys, yeah I watched kung Fu panda 2 and I really wanted to write a fic with baby Po in it! He's just SO CUTE! **

**And to make it interesting, I thought: who was the most unpredictable kung fu master to care for a little child?**

**That's right! TIGRESS! **

**P.S. this is not a TigressXPo fic, honestly I'm not sure what kind of relationship they will build during this story… it's not a coupleish thing but it's not a mother-son thing either… well you decide!**

…**.**

**Chapter one: Baby Po**

Tigress was shocked…

"Po?" Monkey whispered and the one who owned that name lifted his head; his big, greenish blue eyes staring at the furious five and Shifu in confusion, "goo?" he cooed.

A chubby, baby panda a head shorter than Shifu was sitting in front of them on jumbo sized pants that indeed belonged to their large friend…

"Oh my… what happened to Po?" Mantis asked as the five looked at their master; Shifu's ears flattened against his head in confusion and shock as the small ball of fluff played with his toes, cooing and giggling.

"I-I don't know…" he admitted after a moment of silence.

"Po can you understand us? If so, show us that you do"

But the baby didn't reply at Tigress's question, he just looked at a butterfly fluttering by, stretching his arms to touch it but couldn't reach it.

"What do we do?" Crane asked when they all realized that Po did not understand…

Viper slid over to the baby, he gave her a toothless smile and cooed again, stretching out a paw towards the snake; Viper smiled and petted the panda with her tail "He's so cute!"

Shifu straightened his back and cleared his throat, "We must go back to the Jade palace, Monkey, you carry him until we get there" he said and the six warriors along with a baby panda walked towards their home.

"Heh-heh! He is pretty fluffy as a cub" the golden furred monkey grinned as he tickled Po's tummy.

"Aw! I just want to eat him!" Mantis cooed, jumping on the panda's belly and tickled his chubby chin, in return the baby giggled and grabbed the green bug, he yelped in surprise as the baby shoved Mantis halfway in his mouth, "AH! Let me out, let me out!" the sounds of his muffled yells were heard inside Po's mouth, his tiny legs squirming around.

Monkey's eyes widened comically and tried to pull mantis out, Po narrowed his cute, round eyes, keeping his jaw locked around the bug "Let go Po!" Monkey said, not wanting to hurt the baby as he tried to softly pull his friend out of his mouth.

The little panda did not let go, he gurgled slightly and tried to eat Mantis but a large orange paw clasped around the scruff of his neck, picking him up and the little panda came face to face with feline eyes.

"Let go of Mantis Po" Tigress said sternly, looking at him straight in the eye.

The baby's eyes widened as he loosened his hold while the tiger effortlessly pulled Mantis out, "Phew! Thank you Tigress, I thought I was panda chow!" the green bug said and jumped on Monkey's shoulder, "And to think you were the one who wanted to eat him" the primate chuckled while the insect glared.

"And don't do that again!"

Little Po's green hues filled up with tears at being scolded at; he whimpered, his little paws coming up to cover his face and his tiny ears flattening as he hung in Tigress's grasp.

"Aw Tigress! Don't make him cry! He's just a baby!" Viper frowned, Tigress's ears flattened against her skull and placed the baby panda down, a frown of her own etching on her face as Po crawled over and tried to hide behind Crane's thin legs.

"Enough, we will discuss this when we reach the Jade Palace!" Shifu announced and the six masters continued their short trek towards their home; monkey picking him up again.

The six masters sat in a circle in Po's bedroom, the only room that happened to not have dangerous sharp objects or furniture for the baby to play with because the entire room happened to have only a futon in it.

Po had grown some interest for Monkey's tail and decided to play with it by trying to catch it, cooing and giggling while Monkey swished it around.

But the six masters were indeed very disturbed with Po's state.

"Let's recall on what happened before Po turned into his younger self… we were all on a mission to stop a sorceress named Yun who was terrorizing the west border…" Shifu trailed off.

Tigress's eyes widened, "Master, we were left to fight off her summoned earth creatures while Po fought her alone! You think she was responsible for Po's state?" The red panda thought it over and realized she was right.

"Yes, I believe so… she had most likely escaped while we fought the creatures and turned Po into a baby… we need to capture her and get her to turn him back as soon as possible or he might remain that way forever!" Shifu said and got up.

"But why did she turn him into a child and not kill him?" Mantis asked, sitting on Crane's hat so he was a safe distance from Po. "That is a question I can not answer… but we need to set off to find Yun immediately. There is a reason this happened, there are no accidents…" He said after a moment of silence and pointed Oogway's staff he had kept at the female tiger.

"You, Tigress, will stay in the Jade palace and care for Po until we get back."

Tigress's eyes widened at that sentence "But-but master! Why me? I might be useful during the mission; I know nearly nothing of caring for children! Why can't one of the others do it or why not you stay here and care for him while the rest of us look for Yun?" she protested while Shifu shook his head no.

"Yun is a sorceress and requires much experience with magic. I may not be a magician but something like this requires Inner peace and I am the only one besides Po who has mastered the full balance of our Chi. I chose you, because you are the most powerful and very capable of protecting someone alone. I need Viper with me for this mission and the others are even more incapable of caring for a child than you are" the red panda answered.

"I can't argue there, I'm totally useless in the babysitting department" Crane stated while the others nodded, the snake mistress looked unsure "But master Shifu, I know a thing or two about children; I will do it if needed… oh! Po's father, Mr. Ping will be able to take care of him!" Viper said, remembering the nice old goose.

"No Viper, as I said before you are needed in this mission and Po can not leave the Jade Palace; if word gets out that the valley of peace has weakened in strength because the furious five are away and the dragon warrior has turned into an infant, then many of our enemies will chose to attack and try to eliminate Po in his weakest state. This mission will be secret, nobody will know that we have gone, not even the villagers and not even Po's father. Tigress, you will stay in the palace with Po at all times, if any trouble at all hits, your duty is to protect him no matter what." Shifu's words embedded themselves deep into her brain…

How can she care for Po? She doesn't know anything about this type of thing!

How can the hardcore kung Fu master, that can crumble an ironwood tree into sawdust, mother a baby panda?

It was impossible!

Shifu saw the doubt and nervousness play in her amber eyes as they stared at the ground in thought.

He cleared his throat "Monkey, Viper, Mantis and Crane, you four go and pack for our long trip; we leave tomorrow night, I will have a small talk with tigress. Oh and leave Po here."

And with that the four masters got up and left the room without protest.

The little panda stared in confusion as to why the four of them were leaving…

Oh well… he was getting tired of playing with Monkey's tail anyway… so he decided to roll around to have some fun with his toes, oblivious to the serious conversation Shifu and Tigress were having.

"Tigress… I have another reason I chose you." He said and the tiger looked up at him with question, "Another reason?" she repeated in question and the red panda nodded, walking towards the sitting tiger "this is not a simple babysitting mission; in years of being master Oogway's pupil I have not only gained his knowledge of kung fu… but also his wisdom… I know your inner self is restless, it has always been… and part of the reason it is… is because of me…" Shifu looked down, his ears flattening in shame as he looked down while Tigress's eyes widened, "But master, how is it your fault?"

Tigress was interrupted by Shifu once more, "While I raised Tai Lung I gave him my love, I loved him too much… but when I adopted you from that orphanage, I'm afraid I hadn't loved you enough… your heart and soul had already been trampled by the villagers calling you a monster and instead of healing those wounds I had left them open…"

Tigress's ears flattened against her head at those memories as the old red panda looked up at her.

"I didn't give you the love you had needed and in time you tried to harden your heart by training to become the most powerful Kung Fu master… the dragon warrior… I know all of this was to make me proud of you… but when Po showed up and Oogway announced him as the dragon warrior I know it wasn't fair to you, you trained for years and Po only trained for a few weeks until he defeated Tai Lung… but you accepted it with a heavy heart that the panda was the one…

Tigress… I'm sorry… you never really knew a parent's love… my chance to give you love is over… with all the cruelties life has given you I'm surprised that you didn't end up like Tai Lung…

Your heart is pure Tigress… no matter how much you hide it under that hard exterior."

Shifu sighed and placed a hand on her shoulder, making her look up at him, she said nothing but her expression said it all…

Her ears flat and her brows knitted together, her eyes glimmered with sadness…

Little Po got bored of playing with himself and looked over to the two left in the room; he got up and crawled over to them to see if he could find a playmate.

"You need Inner peace Tigress… and I can not give it to you…" the old red panda said, lifting Tigress's chin slightly; the two looked down next to them to see Po tugging on Shifu's robe, cooing; the red panda chuckled and picked up the small black and white panda effortlessly (even if he was almost his size) from under his arms and placed him in Tigress's lap, the panda turned around, belly facing up as he lay down on her lap as she sat cross-legged.

"But maybe he can…"

The tiger mistress looked at Shifu in puzzlement, "But master… how?"

"That is something you will have to realize yourself" Shifu stated and got up, leaving the room without another word.

Tigress's gaze shifted from the closed, sliding paper door to the baby panda curled up in her lap, he stared at her with his big green eyes as he sucked on the fingers of his paw; the tiger master sighed, "How are you supposed to bring me Inner peace? You're just a baby…"

She picked up the little panda under his arms and held him up to get a good look at him; he removed his paw from his mouth and gave her a toothless smile.

Well… Tigress had to admit at least to herself that… Baby Po was a little bit cute…

He cooed and reaching his little arms out to her as if trying to grab her face; little Po found her eyes pretty and shiny when the afternoon sun bathed the room in a soft glow, he wanted to grab them; his slobber covered paw wetting her arm in the process.

Tigress grimaced at him.

…Cute but disgusting…

"I'll never understand the way master Oogway and master Shifu think."

Tigress set the baby panda down and got up, wiping the saliva off of her arm as she walked out of the room, leaving the door open.

Po rolled on his four little paws and followed the tiger mistress.

The tiger reached the kitchen and saw the rest of the five and Shifu at the table, eating some take-out noodles, "Come on Tigress, its dinner time!" Mantis stated and she sat down next to Monkey.

Po saw Tigress turn the corner and his pace quickened a bit when a sweet, delicious smell waft his nostrils, his tummy growled, signaling that he was indeed hungry.

"Tigress, where's Po?" Viper asked worryingly but her question was answered when a cute baby noise was heard at the door, they looked to see Po crawling over to them.

He stopped at the table, his front paws grabbing the table's wooden leg as he sniffed the air, realizing that the smell was coming from the top of the table.

"Aw, he's hungry" Viper cooed and went to pick up the baby but Shifu stopped her, "Wait, let Tigress do it, after all she will be the one to care for him when we leave tomorrow morning"

Tigress looked at Shifu with wide eyes, her amber hues then shifting down to the little panda next to her feet, trying to climb the table's leg.

Po realized he could not get to the food on the table and his tummy was awfully hungry; his eyes started to whelm up with tears, he sat on his soft bottom and started sniffing and whimpering.

Shifu lifted a brow at her when she hesitated while the rest of the five waited to see what would happen.

The baby panda started crying and tried reaching for the food with no avail, "Waahhh!" he wailed and held his paws to his eyes as little tears ran down his chubby cheeks.

Tigress's ears flattened once more at his loud crying and reached down to pick him up; she held him with one arm and grabbed her chopsticks with the other, picking up some noodles and held them in front of Po's mouth.

He little panda's crying ceased into small hiccups and sniffs when he noticed someone pick him up and saw chopsticks holding noodles in front of him, his sad frown turned into a smile as he opened his mouth and ate the noodles given to him, chewing with the little teeth at the back of his mouth and swallowing.

"Well done Tigress" Shifu praised as she continued to feed the chubby ball of fluff.

"I'd never thought I'd live to see Tigress mothering Po" Mantis cackled while monkey joined in the laughter but immediately shut up when Viper hissed at them, following by a glare from Tigress.

"So master Shifu, where do we start searching for Yun?" Crane asked, "We'll start with Gomen city and then travel to all the large cities nearby, she might be anywhere; no doubt that the cities will be fantastic hiding spots for that Black Panther." The red panda replied.

When the bowl was empty and Tigress gave him no more food, Po yawned and smacked his lips slightly in a cute fashion, his tummy satisfied.

"Looks like Po's sleepy, you better get him to bed" Mantis stated while the tiger mistress got up with the baby panda in her arms; he curled up, nuzzling her chest and gave an adorable sigh, closing his eyes.

"Yeah I'm getting tired too, let's all hit the sack" Monkey suggested as the five got up and each walked to their dorms.

Her ears still flat from slight embarrassment; she walked to the door but stopped when Shifu spoke.

"I suggest he sleeps in your room, he's a baby and babies need a lot of attention." The red panda said while Tigress groaned, "yes master"

The tiger walked down the hallway to the barracks and entered her bedroom; everyone else had already entered their own.

The furniture in the room consisted of only one futon, just like Po's room.

She hummed in thought and glanced at the sleeping baby in her arms.

She placed him softly on her bed and walked out of the room, grabbing an empty wooden box that fit little Po and some more blankets and pillows, she made a makeshift bed for the baby and placed it next to the wall on the opposite side of where her bed was.

Making sure the bed was soft enough; she softly picked up the baby again and placed him in the box, he stirred slightly but then fell asleep again as she covered him up to his neck with a blanket.

She sighed and walked over to her bed, laying down on it.

She stared at the box for a while longer until sleep engulfed her.

How can a baby Po bring her Inner peace?

…**..**

**Raven: please review and tell me how it was! The more reviews I get, the faster I update! No lie! :D**


	2. Chapter 2: Hide and seek

**Raven: HOLY SHIT! 14 reviews in just one day! Now THAT'S something! Not just that! I got some WORTHY constructive criticism! YEAH! WOO-HOO! THANK YOU AWESOME PEOPLE! You all deserve a second update for your awesomeness! Anyway I'll keep in mind with what you all said/suggested on the story. But for now… enjoy!**

**P.S. I listen to Tarzan soundtracks when I write this story. Disney music is just so inspirational! :D**

…**.**

**Chapter two: hide and seek**

It was dawn; the sun just barely peaked over the horizon, coloring the sky in faded pink, yellow and blue light; the wind blowing gently in a soft breeze, making the grass, flowers and leaves on the trees dance gracefully. The morning dew was still seen on the plants, it would soon disappear when the sun wakes up from its slumber but until then…

Everything was calm, peaceful.

In the village of the valley of peace everything was quiet, not a soul to be seen on the streets, not even the sound of birds chirping was heard.

Nature was still asleep. Along with everyone else.

All but six figures, who were standing before the long stairs that leaded to the jade palace.

The five masters stood across from Tigress.

"I hope you can handle that ball of fluff" Mantis said, saluting "Of course she can, have a little faith!" Viper smiled at the tiger mistress.

Crane took out a small colorful book from his pack and gave it to Tigress, "Here… it's a baby book, to show you on how to take care of a baby" He chuckled awkwardly while the tiger thanked him.

"Good luck on your journey" she bowed.

And with that the four of the five warriors turned around to sprint and fly down the stony steps.

But one remained for a little longer; Shifu smiled softly at the orange coated feline.

"No Tigress… good luck on **your** journey" he said, turning around and leaping off after the other four, leaving a confused tigress behind.

Her journey?

But she wasn't going anywhere…

The striped feline sighed… must be one of those mind riddles Shifu liked to leave on her to figure out.

"Right…" she drawled, turning around and walked inside to check on the still sleeping baby panda.

….

She reached her room.

But when she glanced over to the box her eyes widened.

The box was empty.

Oh no!

Tigress ran out of the room and looked around the barracks, he wasn't there…

"Po!" she called out but her shout wasn't answered.

How can this happen? She was only gone for ten minutes to bid her goodbyes to her friends and master and he was gone just like that?

She couldn't have already failed her mission, it was just ten minutes!

Is this what Shifu meant when he said babies need a lot of attention?

She looked in the kitchen first but when he wasn't there she then searched the rest of the building, "Po! Where are you?" she opened every door that came in her way and looked under everything she thought the little panda might fit in.

Tigress left the building when she realized that he wasn't there.

The kung fu master stopped in front of the training area…

Oh god… she hoped he wasn't in there…

Every sharp object imaginable to hurt a baby was in there…

She can't imagine the horror to see him in that room… his adult self couldn't handle the training area! Much less his baby self!

Tigress took a deep breath to try and calm her racing heart, she coiled her muscles to get ready to pounce and save him if needed and shoved open the doors.

Pretty soon she was met with nothing but darkness…

"Po!" her voice echoed around the room, sounding stressed even to her own ears.

Her sharp sight could easily pierce the darkness and carefully scanned her surroundings… the weapons and training tools were all in place, unmoving, nobody was in there.

Tigress sighed in relief… good, he wasn't here…

She shut the doors and sprinted away in another direction…

….

The sun was now over the horizon, bathing the valley in orange and yellow light, making it look beautiful as nature began to wake up, the birds starting to chirp cheerfully and the butterflies came out of their hiding places, a few villagers leaving their houses to start their day.

It all looked so nice and calm…

But not for Tigress…

It had been an hour and she had searched everywhere! Even the sacred hall of warriors! But no, he was nowhere in sight!

The mighty tigress was getting indeed VERY worried; it would have been really strange for someone to see master Tigress, who was always calm and collected, in panicky mode.

Where could he have gone? A baby panda couldn't have gone far, much less Po, he couldn't have climbed down all of those steps.

She wanted to pull the fur off of her skull as she held her paws on her head in a way to calm herself.

"Ok Tigress, you need to think, if you were Po, where would you have gone?" the tiger took a deep breath to calm herself; reaching the tree of heavenly wisdom and sat down, leaning on the bark; the tree had always calmed her down when she was stressed, it was sort of her quiet place to think, "Somewhere that had food, that's for sure… but I've already checked the kitchen…" she sighed and thought hard.

Jeez… she had taken down huge armored oxen and rhinos, she had tracked down the sneakiest of foxes… but she couldn't find a fat baby panda?

What kind of warrior is she?

Her thoughts were interrupted when a small thud was heard in front of her.

She opened her eyes to see a squished peach that had landed on the ground from above just next to her foot.

She looked closer and noticed something odd about the peach… she picked it up and examined it…

It had little bite marks on it…

She looked around to see large seeds the peaches held all around her and even some half eaten ones.

Tigress looked up and surely enough, in between the green leaves and plump peaches, a black and white fur-ball was in sight.

It was Po.

He was sitting on a thick lower branch, chewing on a peach he held.

His green eyes noticed her and smiled, "Goo!" he made cute baby noises as he teethed on the peach.

…

_Po had woken up when Tigress had left the room to meet the other five warriors a few minutes later; he sat up in the box and noticed that nobody was in sight, confused, a growling noise then filled his ears; he looked down at his tummy to see it calling him for food; so he looked around to see if anything is edible, he crawled out of the box, landing with a small thud on the floor "oomph!" _

_He had looked around and tried to find food by tasting whatever he thought looked decent to eat… like a chair or a cloth._

_They weren't very tasty._

_So he found his way out of the building; when he reached outside he looked around, not knowing where his four little paws were taking him._

_Soon enough a faint, sweet smell captured his nose in the breeze, he followed his nostrils and soon came up to a tree; he noticed that the tree was where the sweet smell came from so he decided to try it._

_He bit into the bark… only to spit it out distastefully, his face scrunching up in a pout. _

_He looked up to see round things of goodness hang from the branches and decided to see what they were, so he climbed with slight difficulty, grunting ever so often as he ascended the bulky tree._

_When he reached his destination he bit into the fruit and cooed happily, finally finding something to eat and decided to stay and munch on the peaches until he was full._

….

Relief filled Tigress, her tense shoulders relaxing when she found Po.

But her eyes narrowed as she climbed the tree and grabbed the little panda by the scruff of his neck once more, jumping down and removed the half eaten peach from his grasp, dropping it and glared at the panda; her face twisting into a snarl while he pouted but his eyes widened when Tigress started yelling at him.

"Po you little brat! Do you want to give me a heart attack? You could've gotten yourself hurt! Don't just go wandering off playing hide and seek! Never do that again!" She yelled, pointing at him.

Little Po tried to back away from the angry tiger, but because he was hanging in her grasp, he couldn't do so.

Tigress's snarl slowly melted away when she saw him look like a small child being scolded at… which is what he was right now.

His green hues tear-ed up once more, making them glimmer in the orange-yellow sunlight and the black rims around his eyes made his big round emerald gems stand out even more. His little ears flattened and his limbs curled against his little round, plump body. He started sniffing and whimpering; making Tigress sigh.

She had yelled and scolded Po in the past for his stupid actions and she had not regretted doing so…

But right now… she just couldn't stay mad at him.

"No, no don't cry, I was just… worried..." she apologized, puffing out a breath and placed him in her arms in the common position that people held babies, his sniffs and hiccups slowly subsided when he realized she wasn't yelling at him anymore.

"But don't do that again ok?" she added and shook her index finger in front of him in a 'no' gesture; he cooed, lightly grabbing her finger and placed it in his mouth, sucking on it, covering it in drool in the process.

His big, teary eyes looking so innocently at her.

The tiger master fought back a smile that tugged on the corners of her mouth.

"Jeez, you'll cause me trouble you know that?" She said as she walked towards the large house, letting the little panda play and chew on her finger while he lay down on her one arm.

Not like it hurt… he had no teeth… and even if he did she felt no pain anyway.

She wiped a few tears away from his eyes and sighed again; she had been doing that a lot lately…

…

"Goo-ga!" The little dragon warrior giggled, trying to catch the long thing swishing around which happened to be the Bengal tigress's tail.

It had three colors on it; orange, white and black stripes; much more interesting than Monkey's plain yellow tail.

Tigress sat on the floor cross-legged, flipping through the pages of the baby book, "How to change a baby's diaper? Oh god, why me?" she rubbed her temples, trying to ignore the loud baby noises Po was happily making while she groaned at the fact that she had to put some pants on him and clean up after him if he ever made a mess…

Po caught her tail "ha! Goo-ga!" he giggled and inspected it by looking at it in all directions, his face scrunched up in curiosity and placed it in his mouth.

"How to-" the tiger's mumbling was cut short when she felt nibbling at the tip of her tail, she looked behind her to see the little panda chewing on it.

"Stop chewing on my tail Po! I'm not a chew-toy!" she growled and pulled her slobber covered tail out of his mouth "At this rate I'll be completely covered in drool by the end of the day!"

"Goo-goo-ga!" he yelled back, waving his arms around in frustration, he crawled over to her tail and grabbed it, hugging it against himself; his face in a pout and his eyes narrowed as if saying 'MINE!'

Tigress's eyebrows lifted in surprise at the comical sight before her of Po claiming her tail as his.

"Fine, you little spoiled panda" she rolled her eyes and turned back around, continuing to read the book while Po played with her tail like a kitten played with a ball of yarn.

She had no intention of arguing with a baby panda.

"In order to-" she started reading but was interrupted yet again when Po bit on her tail and pulled it like a puppy would do to a tug-o-war toy, "Ok, that's it!" she hissed and got up, grabbing her tail back and held it out of his reach, he whined and stretched his arms out for it to take it "Are you hungry or something? You keep chewing things!"

It suddenly hit her like a ton of bricks and she face-pawed.

"Of course you're hungry! You're always hungry! How can I forget? So that's why you've been chewing everything this past hour!" she removed her paw and looked around, "Well… I better get something for you to fill that bottomless pit you call a stomach" she sighed and opened the cupboards to take out and make some instant noodles.

Finally done making the noodles while Po yet again amused himself with her tail, the feline picked up the steaming bowl of noodles and walked towards the table, pulling Po along, who had a grip on her tail, and then turned around and picked up the hungry baby Panda with her free paw, placing him on the large table.

"Here Po" she said and held out some noodles for him to eat… but he refused to open his mouth, earning a growl of frustration from Tigress, "Oh come on now, don't tell me you don't want the noodles! It's all I have right now!"

She tried again but he still wouldn't eat them, he just pushed her paw away from him, grunting.

In all honesty it was odd for her to see Po refuse food that was given to him.

Tigress groaned but then remembered what that old goat did with the babies at the orphanage who didn't eat their food.

She sighed, glad that nobody was around to see her doing such a childish gesture with a baby.

"Uh… here comes… the… uh… birdie!" she sang awkwardly, trying to feed Po once more, the baby giggled, opening his mouth while doing so and she placed the food in it; he ate them.

"How this works with babies…? I'll never know…" she pondered for a moment but shrugged and did the same thing after that "Here comes the birdie!" she sang again, this time more normally, making a few sound effects as Po continued eating the food, clapping his hands cheerfully while he chewed.

Her features softened slightly as she continued feeding the baby panda.

But just slightly…

She couldn't believe her idiot friend would be such a pain in the neck… but a good pain in the neck.

She couldn't describe the feelings she had for him… it was like he annoyed her to no end whatsoever, but then he just always made her day.

Po was a food-loving, fat panda who always wanted to see his friends happy, his trademark grin and stupid remarks and actions always somehow bringing a smile of her own come on her face; he's a great warrior and loving friend. What more could you ask from someone?

But her… she may be strong… but she was moody, emotionless most of the time and just… the opposite of Po…

Why would Shifu say her heart was pure if she experienced nothing but pain for years until she finally felt nothing?

"Goo?"

Tigress felt a small tug on her whiskers; she glanced up to see green hues looking at her in question.

She looked down to see the bowl empty and her paw holding the chopsticks without noodles up in front of his mouth.

She had spaced out.

Not noticing when the bowl was finally empty and that she had continued to mindlessly feed Po with thin air.

"Oh, I'm sorry Po, I was just thinking" she mumbled, placing the bowl and chopsticks on the table and picked up the little panda, "alright, lunch is over, its nap-time for you and training-time for me" the tiger said and carried him over to her room.

She looked down at him and he gave her a toothless smile once more.

He was still the same old Po; even as a baby he has the same exact character; so Po really did have the pure innocence of a baby…

Something that she was sure she would never have.

….

Far away from the valley of peace, deep in a cave, a black panther sat in front of the only light source in the darkness.

A pool of yellow glowing water; the light illuminated beautifully on her perfect, flawless face along with her pure white robe.

Her acid green eyes stared into the pool of water, "Yes… it won't be long before our revenge is complete" she cackled, touching the substance with a black clawed paw and the water rose from the ground, forming a circular sphere of gold glowing liquid floating in mid air.

The water showed images, and those images were Tigress, baby Po, the rest of the furious five and Shifu doing whatever they were doing at that exact moment.

"Ah, sweet, sweet revenge. Don't you agree?" the panther smirked, showing her sharp, pearly white fangs.

Two yellow orbs illuminated in the darkness.

A shadow approached the female, the orbs turned to be, in fact, eyes.

The figure walked out of the shadows; his spotted grey fur and bare, well built chest practically glowing from the light.

A male leopard stood before her.

"Yes I do Yun, or should I say Daiyu?" he chuckled, placing a paw on her shoulder and kneeled down next to her to see what the yellow glowing liquid showed, the black jade chuckled.

"Daiyu would do just fine Tai Lung."

…

**Raven: Daiyu means black jade in Chinese so you don't get confused when I mention the Black Panther as a black jade. **

**And I have no idea how far the tree of heavenly wisdom is from the barracks, so just imagine it's not THAT far for baby Po to reach in ten minutes ok? I suck at kung-fu-panda-world geography so just bare with me alright? **

**Anyway, I'll post again tomorrow if I get enough reviews that'll satisfy me like the 14 reviews did! But for now… good luck pondering on what the heck is going on! :D**


	3. Chapter 3: the meaning of danger

**Raven: hi, sorry for the late update but my Document manager had some slight problems and I had to send an e-mail to the site staff to fix it because I couldn't upload any chapters. Now that it's fixed I'm good and I hope you enjoy!**

…**.**

**Chapter three: the meaning of danger**

Tigress entered her room, placed Po in his box and went to walk away to go training, hoping he'll fall asleep quickly…

But things just don't go as planned when you have babies.

She stopped in her tracks and inwardly grumbled when the little ball of fur started sniffing and crying when she started walking away; his cries getting louder and louder the farther away she walked.

"Waaahhh!" he wailed and held his paw up, reaching for her.

The tiger turned around and grudgingly retreated back towards him, "What? You don't seriously expect me to read you a bedtime story do you?" she grunted as the baby held his arms up for her to pick him up, "Ah!" he whined and looked up at her with teary eyes.

She sighed in annoyance and picked him up from under his armpits, "what do you want?" she mumbled, really itching to train but the fluffy baby not letting her.

He smiled and stretched out his arms towards her face, cooing and gurgling; it was obvious he wasn't tired and wanted to play.

"No Po, I need to train for a while, you need to stay here where it's safe, it'll be just for a bit, I'll be back soon" she said and placed the baby back in his little makeshift crib.

The panda started yelling and whining, wanting her to pick him up again; the tiger sighed in annoyance once more and left the room.

Little Po watched her walk out, he whimpered, his bottom lip trembling slightly and his eyes watering as he lowered his head, feeling rejected…

But his ears perked up again when she reentered the room, carrying something in her paw.

"Here's Monkey's stuffed teddy, it's the only toy I could find; Mantis had a bouncy ball too to practice his speed with it when we first started training but I couldn't find it." She said and gave it to the baby panda.

It was a brown monkey stuffed with soft cotton, black buttons for eyes and a bit stitched here and there.

Tigress had accidentally stumbled in Monkey's room years ago, finding him playing with it; he always hides it under a loose wooden plank in his room until everyone falls asleep, then he takes it out and sleeps with it next to him.

She hadn't told anyone else, finding it great for blackmailing to get what she wanted from the golden furred monkey… and in this case a great toy for Po.

Po stared at it with fascination and hugged it, cooing and smiling at the tiger master; she nodded and left the room silently when he was distracted enough with the toy for him to not notice her leave.

Po glanced up from his toy to see nobody around, confused, he dropped it on the floor and got up "Goo?"

Where was Tigress?

Wasn't she here a moment ago?

The little panda crawled out of his wooden crib with a bit of difficulty, landing on his butt, getting up on his four little limbs and walked towards the closed sliding door; he touched the paper obstacle and tried to open it but only managing to rip the paper, making a hole in it.

He smiled, ripping the paper apart enough for him to crawl through and stepped down the hallway, he looked around, searching for the orange coated tiger but she was nowhere in sight.

He walked out of the building, looking around "Bah!" he called out for the tiger master to hear but no answer was heard.

He walked around for a while but he didn't stop looking around, his tiny ears perked when he heard banging noises and sounds like "Ha! Hyah! Cha!" like someone was fighting.

Of course the little panda didn't know that.

Reaching a fairly large building, he peeked around the corner, crawling towards the entrance; the baby stopped in front of the half open doors and looked inside to see Tigress.

"Oh!" his eyes widened in fascination as he walked inside and sat down before the entrance, watching her as she maneuvered around the obstacles and sharp objects that flung at her.

She dodged and punched some swaying Clubs that hung from the ceiling while jumping across moving snake-like things that twisted around to make it more difficult for her.

Behind that was a huge metal blue bowl of sorts, behind that was the Gauntlet of wooden warriors and behind all of those was something that shot flames at random places, at random moments.

Tigress hadn't noticed him, being too caught up in her training to see the small panda crawl all the way to the side of the dangerous equipment.

He spotted a ball sitting in the middle of the smooth wooden floor; it was pink and about the size of a peach in which he found interesting, his mind coming back to the delicious fruit he had eaten this morning; he lifted it and tried biting onto it but it was hard and it tasted awful, he spit it out distastefully but giggled when it bounced up and down, away from him.

He may have not found a snack, but he did find something amusing.

The little panda crawled towards it, trying to grab it but it kept slipping through his little fingers because it was slimy from his drool.

The ball slipped yet again from his grasp after another failed attempt at grabbing it and he crouched down, shaking his butt like a cat would before pouncing on the ball, he grinned and jumped on the bouncy object.

But instead he accidentally pushed it off of the safe wooden floorboards and it bounced down where the training machines were.

More specifically, The Field Of Fiery Death.

The flames burned the ball a bit, coating it black and made it move around from the pressure the flames were shooting out from the holes.

It looked funny to Po and he climbed down the steps towards the flames of doom… not knowing what kind of danger he was putting himself into.

….

Tigress dodged yet again another knife thrown at her and destroyed yet another swaying Club; she continued to do so until some very familiar giggling reached her ears.

She stopped her training, dodging the hard punching bags and did a back flip, landing on the huge metal bowl; her eyes flicking at the entrance…

Nobody was there.

Weird… she thought she heard Po…

The tigress rubbed her temples, of course Po wasn't here! He was at the barracks playing with his doll or maybe even sleeping.

Why is she worried so much? Why does her mind always drift to see if Po was ok?

He's fine.

She froze when those same baby noises that come from the _same_ baby panda were heard in the very **same** room.

Po was here? But that means…

Tigress abruptly turned around…

Only for her heart to stop…

Po was crawling around the fire field, chasing his ball while the flames shot out from all around him, somehow by a miracle not getting himself flambéed.

"Oh my god, PO!" She yelled, nearly digging her claws in her brain as she looked on in horror.

The cub turned his head to look at her as she shot towards him in lighting speeds, not noticing the ring just under him starting to redden, signaling that it was about to release fire.

Time stopped for Tigress at that moment…

Thump-thump…

Only the rapid beats of her heart pounded in her ears as her eyes dilated into dots from the terrifying sight as she jumped up, sailing through the air towards him…

Thump-thump…

Thump-thump…

The ring did its job and shot out its flames shooting towards the sky…

The orange feline landed on the opposite side, crashing on the wall with a loud 'thud!'

She grunted, sitting up and glanced at the Field of fiery Death, her breathing coming out in short gasps as pain shot up her arm but she ignored it.

Po…

She looked down at a certain fur-ball she was holding in her embrace.

Green eyes looked up at her.

Tigress quickly placed him down in front of her and checked the panda cub to see if he was burned anywhere… arms, legs, belly, head, back…

He was okay.

The amber eyed tiger let out a breath she didn't know she was holding and looked at the baby sitting in front of her.

She didn't want to imagine what would have happened if she hadn't been there in time.

Her eyes narrowed into slits… Po was almost-

Po saw the look in her amber hues and his shoulders hunched as she looked down to glare at him, realizing that he did something wrong.

His ears flattened and he curled up against himself; taking a step back but didn't back away any further, knowing that it wasn't a good idea to do so… he winced at her angry stare…

She grabbed his arm rather harshly to make sure he didn't run off, pulling him closer and lowering her head so they could come face to face.

"Po, what did I tell you? Why didn't you listen and stay at the barracks? You were supposed to stay THERE!"

She snarled, slamming her fist on the ground, scaring Po with the violent gesture; the cub whimpered as his green hues widened in fear, his arm starting to hurt from the pressure she used on him.

"You could have been KILLED!"

The tiger master was too furious to care about the tears that rapidly trickled down his cheeks and his sniffs and whimpers getting louder the more she yelled.

"When I tell you to STAY you STAY! NEVER disobey me again! EVER!"

Tigress's roars of rage were nearly heard from a mile away.

She would have continued with her shouts…

But she froze…

Her temper abruptly dropping down to zero when the panda cub opened his mouth to let out a heart-wrenching wail of despair.

…

Tigress stared blankly at the crying baby as his screams and cries echoed loudly in the training area.

She had good reason to yell at him, he was almost turned into panda-kebab and it was because he didn't listen to her, didn't he understand that he needed to stay safe?

His free paw grabbed her own that held a vast grip on his other arm; saltwater drenched his face as he sobbed, his green hues reddening from crying so hard; his chubby little frame racked from the sobs.

The more she thought about it… the more she felt wrong…

That realization hit her like a ton of bricks…

Her grip slowly kept loosening until she no longer held onto his arm, her paw dropping to her side; she let him go but he didn't move from his spot as he sat there in front of her, crying his eyes out.

Of course he didn't… he was just a cub right now… he didn't know the meaning of danger… it wasn't his fault… It was hers for being careless and leaving him alone.

Tigress inwardly cursed herself for being so harsh towards him; how could she be so stupid? He was only a cub…

Guilt started forming in her chest as she stared at the crying panda for a few more seconds, her blank façade melting into a shameful look; she sighed before scooping him up, resting his chin on her right shoulder as she embraced him, his little body still shaking from the sobs.

"Oh… I'm sorry Po… Shhh… its okay, I'm not mad anymore… I'm not mad…" she whispered, lightly rubbing his back to sooth his stressed figure.

The tiger winced again as her left side screamed from white hot pain when she picked him up; she looked at her left arm to see a third degree burn on it…

Great… could this day get any better?

She only hoped it wasn't as bad as it looked…

She got up with baby Po in her arms; his cries had subsided to hiccups, sniffs and little whimpers here and there as she walked out of the training area and towards their home.

This day had not gone past without a given lesson for Tigress; she will now never leave the little panda alone ever again.

"I guess there's no more training until master Shifu and the rest come back, I'm going to keep a sharp eye on you from now on" she sighed as she cradled the panda cub in her arms.

When Po had finally stopped his crying all together, he and Tigress sat in their room again.

He played with his new toy for a bit until he noticed Tigress take out a white box and open it to take out some medical supplies… not that he knew what they were.

He crawled over to her to see her treat a burned part of her arm, wincing and grunting ever so slightly as she padded it with a wetted cotton bud.

The baby panda eyed her wound with puzzlement and grimaced when she grunted in pain again.

It looked like it hurt.

She got that when she saved him from those funny red things that shot out of the rings he was playing around in…

So that means she was hurt…

And it was because of him?

Baby Po may not understand a lot of things… but he knew well enough to recognize emotions when he saw them… and Tigress looked in pain.

Was she angry at him earlier because she hurt herself while saving him?

Sadness and guilt blossomed in the little panda's chest, he hadn't listened to her and it was because of him that she hurt herself…

He didn't want to hurt her… and he didn't want to make her mad either…

Tigress had bandaged her wound and now stared at the cub in confusion, noticing that he strangely looked deep in thought; his features saddening the more he remained that way while staring at her bandaged arm…

To her shock and puzzlement, after a minute he looked up at her with sad eyes, crawling over to her and grabbed her large paw with his smaller ones, softly touching the bandages on her arm.

"Goo…" Po murmured and looked up at her from the bandages once more, his eyes watering slightly.

His expression on the whole practically screaming the words 'I'M SORRY!'

Tigress's eyes softened, "It's okay Po, it's just a burn, it'll heal…" she placed her other paw on his head, ruffling his short but fluffy fur.

His eyes lightened slightly and he got up on his two back, wobbling slightly but he managed to lean forward and fell on her torso and did what he was aiming for; embracing her.

"Ah…" he sighed cutely as he hugged her, closing his eyes; glad that she wasn't mad at him anymore and glad that she was okay.

The feline flattened her ears and her eyes widened in surprise.

He still trusted her even after she yelled at him?

…**.**

**Raven: hi guys, reviews would be much appreciated!**


	4. Chapter 4: that warm feeling

**Raven: Hello, you are you doin'? -Joey's line from the series _Friends _LOL.**

…**.**

**Chapter four: That warm feeling**

It had been three days since the Training-area incident and Tigress never stepped inside ever since.

She had taken every sharp weapon she found that lay around and locked all of them up in the building, she had almost learned the baby book out by heart and cared for Po like a babysitter should; she was to make sure he was properly cared for and fed.

And that cub ate like… 10 times a day…

She was glad that they had just enough food in the kitchen to last for another week more, with Po included.

Tigress had finally put some pants on Po, having stolen some of Monkey's spare pants; ripping, cutting and sowing them to fix up the right size for the baby panda; of course not experienced with the activity of sowing, it took her many hours to make it well enough for him.

And even longer to get him to put it on… and make the pants stay on.

…

The feline didn't really know how to play, so she just let the cub horse around with her tail and climb on her when she sat down but on the exception of chewing her body parts, mainly her tail.

He liked playing with her tail, it was fun to try and catch it and even Tigress sometimes also found it somewhat amusing, smirking at him every time he let out a frustrated grunt when he couldn't catch it.

…

It was lunch time and Po was hungry again.

Tigress didn't know how to cook as well as the adult Po; her diet was very light and she never needed to but she had tried to for the baby's sake, reading Viper's cook book she had found under the sink filled with cobwebs and dust; the snake mistress had bought it to try and cook once but ended up failing miserably.

But not as miserably as Tigress.

She had thrown out four pots and pans because the 'food' she made somehow always either turned black and stuck down on the bottom of the casseroles or ended up tasting horrible; to top that off she was not able to get the disgusting stuff off and had to throw the pots in the garbage along with the food.

She grumbled after the major failed attempts, giving up and decided to cook some instant soup.

…

And right now the tiger master was sitting on one of the chairs in the kitchen, feeding Po, who sat on the table.

She tasted it first to make sure it wasn't too hot for the cub and when she was satisfied, she gave it to him.

But this time, instead of eating the food as he always did, Po decided that he wanted to play.

He unexpectedly splashed his paw in the soup, spilling some of it out and drenching himself and the table with the green substance (despite the color it tasted pretty good.)

The green soup was now splattered all over his face, belly and arms; he giggled at Tigress's annoyed look "Po! What was that for?"

She rolled her eyes when the baby just clapped his hands together in amusement, giggling, "Great, now I'll have to clean you up along with the table… but first you need to eat the rest of the soup" the tiger sighed and held up the spoon in front of his mouth, he parted his lips and ate the soup but before he could swallow it he started his fits of laughter again…

…Spitting out the food in the process and splattered onto her face…

She wiped some of the soup off of her eyelids and opened them to glare slightly at the panda… glad that he didn't dirty her clothes.

Tigress was not amused…

But Po couldn't help but burst out laughing, he found Tigress's 'not-amused' face hilarious as droplets of the thick soup dripped down her striped cheeks and chin, his cute fit of giggles echoing in the whole room.

"Yes, ha-ha… very funny… I'm practically dying of laughter as you can see right now, having soup spilled all over your face is indeed hilarious…" she deadpanned, picking up a napkin and wiped her face to rid of the soup, but it didn't do much, considering the soup stained her fur and now needed to wash it off, Po needing the same thing…

She crossed her arms and waited for the baby panda to stop his laughing.

But Po continued, he laughed so hard his sides hurt and he fell on his back, rolling left and right on the table and kicking his little feet in the air because he was laughing that much.

Tigress herself almost cracked a smile at seeing him laugh.

He was so… cute, to say the least, when he laughed.

Much better than crying.

"Ok Mr. Giggles, it's time for you to take a bath" she drawled and picked him up but paused when she realized what she called him…

Mr. Giggles?

The tiger inwardly chuckled at the thought.

He sounded like a teddy bear… not that she was far from the truth anyway.

Po's laughing now toned down to giggling; he touched her face, leaving a little green paw print on her cheek and gave her a huge grin.

Unknowingly to her, the small smile she held back cracked on her lips just by looking at his happy face; her chest feeling lightened for some reason…

It felt like she had accomplished something and was proud of herself for doing so... she didn't do anything to cause that feeling… and she didn't know why… she hadn't felt like that in a long time.

But it felt nice.

…

After washing her face with cold water, they entered the showers; Tigress opened the tap and the water started running down. She placed her hand under the shower and waited for it to heat up… but it never did…

There was no hot or at least warm water… it was instead ice cold.

She groaned, remembering why…

It was summer; the furious five always switched off the warm water and replaced it with ice cold water to shower in after a day of training with blood and sweat to harden their muscles and their bodies to become more efficient in harsh climates.

She had no problem showering with cold water… however Po was now another story…

"Great… now how do I clean you up?" she sighed and started to think as she took Po and walked towards the barracks…

She already thought of starting a fire to warm up some water but with that incident where Po was almost fried, she decided to not take any chances…

So what option was left for her to do in order to get Po clean?

Suddenly a memory flashed in her mind where Shifu had told her about their ancestors before they even started building houses… before showers or baths were invented…

She shook her head at that thought that came across her mind… no… nobody does that anymore.

But she had no choice… Po would certainly smell tomorrow with the dry soup all over him and she didn't want him to catch a cold in the shower.

Po played around in the hallway, giggling and throwing around the stuffed monkey, dirtying the doll and creating little paw-prints in the hallway floor and walls… finding it fun to 'draw.'

Tigress had to do this or he'll drench the entire Jade palace with green soup paw prints… and then she'll have to clean up everything… she already needs to clean the kitchen…

"Po! Come here! It's time to take a bath!" she called for the baby "Ah!" he cooed and ran off in the opposite direction…

"Oh jeez… Po! Get over here!" the tiger master ran after him, chasing the cub; he entered her bedroom and hid under the covers of the bed, trying to camouflage himself and failing at it.

She gave a loud sigh of annoyance and walked over to the large round lump under the covers that stuck out like a sore thumb. She pulled the covers down and picked up the panda by the scruff of his neck; he pouted, a low rumble rose up in his throat that sounded a lot like a grunt of annoyance because she had found him.

The orange coated feline lifted an eyebrow at him, "What? You thought you could outwit a kung fu master by hiding under a blanket?" the cub frowned even more, making his face look weird while squirming in her grasp and tried to break free but failed miserably.

Tigress grimaced; she couldn't believe she had to do this… But it was the only way… her feline ancestors had done this with their cubs.

She was glad it was soup and nothing else on him… so… Tigress lay down on her stomach to make herself comfortable with the still squirming baby in her grasp, her arms circling around him and preventing him from escaping…

And…

She licked his cheek.

Her rough tongue brushing across his chubby face; she retreated and saw that the stain on his cheek was successfully gone.

Hm… it actually worked.

Po looked up at the tigress in confusion for a second but then grinned, he seemed to like it and for that he stopped his struggling.

It felt like someone was brushing your hair without the pain of trying to undo the knots in them.

With that, Tigress continued grooming Po; she licked the stains off of top of his head, the little tuff that actually stuck out flattened but then spiked up again surprisingly; finishing with his face, she then proceeded under his chin; Po tilted his head back for her to lick the dry soup off his fur. He started giggling when she continued cleaning it off his belly, being ticklish there.

Tigress paused when Po's belly started shaking up and down from the giggles he made; she looked at the cub that lay in her arms and watched him make those cute baby laughs for a moment; he reached to grab her whiskers but before he could touch her she licked his paw to rid of the dry green substance, her rough tongue tickling Po's palm "Bah!" he cooed, giving her a toothless grin.

After the feline was done, she looked over the baby panda and was satisfied when she spotted no more stains on his fur; Po sat up and Tigress looked on, curious to see what he was about to do.

She felt something small and damp touch her face, she looked at the baby in surprise.

"…"

Po had licked her cheek.

…

His sparkling sea green eyes looked at her and it was almost like something hard and cold inside of her started to melt; her surprised look immediately melted and her lips fully tugged upward… She just couldn't help it; she could not hold back her smile this time. She would surely get a hairball after the tongue bath she had just given him… but it felt like it was totally worth it.

A warm feeling filled her being with the cub's gesture while a low rumbling sound escaped her chest as Po nuzzled her cheek, placing his little paws on her face.

To her own surprise she returned the nuzzle.

She had started warming up to Po when he had defeated Tai Lung and slowly created a real friendship with him, learning to care about him. But right now the feeling she felt at that moment and the sound she heard coming from her own body was foreign to her; she had never felt anything like this with her other friends, Shifu or even with adult Po either… she didn't know what this feeling was… but you know what?

She didn't care.

…

Tigress didn't know that she was purring.

….

**Raven: I saw the lion king yesterday and when I saw the scene where Simba's mother gives him a tongue bath I just HAD to put it here! I don't know about you guys but I like it when someone brushes my hair, my scalp always feels great (when my hair doesn't have knots of course, or at least when the knots come undone easily without pain.) :D**

**I'm not sure if showering with cold water hardens your muscles or makes them efficient to whatever and that stuff, my gym teacher told me that but I'm still not sure, I don't know about these type of things so bare with me. (In my opinion cold water just makes you get sick, but I don't know how hardcore kung fu warriors react to it so let's pretend)**

**Anyway, I guess it's enough of the cuteness huh? I will add just one more fluffy scene between baby Po and Tigress on the next chapter and then more action will come later on; do you want me to end the cute scenes or add them somewhere in between the chapters and the action? **

**Care to share opinions anyone?**

**Later chapters will explain about Daiyu and how Tai Lung survived the Wuxi-finger-hold and how Shifu and the others are doing and blah, blah, blah. You get the picture. XD**


	5. Chapter 5: storms and lullabies

**Raven: While I was writing the Po and Tigress part you will see after you read the rest of the chapter I was listening to this wonderful music composed by Paul Collier and it fit so well! The irony is that its title is called 'The Inner Smile' making me think of Tigress. I really, **_**really**_**, **_**REALLY**_** suggest you listen to this while reading that part, here's the link:** .com/watch?v=4zy_5rs8uOQ&feature=relmfu

**(If the link doesn't work, just go to Youtube and write 'The Inner smile, relaxing instrumental by Paul Collier') **

**I almost even think that it'll be the theme song of this story!**

…**.**

**Chapter five: storms and lullabies**

It was sunset.

Five shadows zipped across the land, running at high speeds, searching something… or someone. They panted and gasped for air, their muscles aching and their bodies tired. They've been trying to find their target… but they had no such luck.

They leaped down to the ground, resting for a few moments.

"It has been 10 days since we've started searching for Yun and we haven't even found a clue on her whereabouts!" A red panda grunted in frustration, hitting his staff on the ground; his robe was dirty and his fur messy, similar to the others, they have not rested much these past few days.

"Master Shifu, we've searched everywhere… Yun is not around any neighboring cities, villages or provinces for that matter..." Crane replied, flapping his wings to help loosen his sore muscles "but how can she disappear like that?" Mantis huffed, also exhausted with the constant traveling.

"I don't know but we must keep looking if we want for Po to return to normal" Shifu sighed, leaning on his staff slightly.

"But Master Shifu, we must rest, if we do somehow meet Yun along the way we will not have the strength to defeat her" a snake mistress added while the old red panda sighed, looking at the sky to see storm clouds gathering.

"You are right… we sleep here for the night"

Just as those words left his mouth, a roar reached everyone's ears, alarming them.

They all abruptly turned around…

And in their line of sight was huge leopard, twice the size of a rhino, standing before them. It's grey, bulky features, jagged sides and fangs proved that it was made out of stone; its entire eyeball glowing green as it let out another roar, sounding metallic to their ears.

"I think someone wants to have a pajama party" Monkey said as they all got into fighting stances.

But the stone animal had friends…

Another creature emerged from a large tree nearby, it's entire being coated with the hard bark of the tree in the shape of a grizzly bear. Two more emerging from the ground, their bodies made out of dirt and took on the shapes of a wolf and a lion. They were all in equal size with the stone leopard and just as bulky.

They all had glowing green markings all over their bodies, eventually leading up to their eyes.

The four beasts walked on all four limbs towards them.

"Yun's earth creatures! She must be nearby!" Shifu yelled as he dodged an attack from one of the creatures, slicing an arm off of the earth-wolf with his Chi, the blue light emerging from his hands; it howled in pain but everyone was shocked with what they saw...

The arm on the ground quickly dissolved and the dirt under the wolf started shifting, climbing up its remaining arm and slithering on its other shoulder… in a split second the severed arm grew right back… the wolf looked back at Shifu, its eyes glinting in bloodlust and its teeth curled up in a snarl… 

Lightning flashed in the distance.

…

A black panther sat on her knees, her paws resting on them as her long, pure white robe sprawled all around her gracefully.

Her eyes were closed, looking like she was meditating; a sphere of golden liquid floated in front of her, illuminating her dark fur.

A snow-leopard sat cross-legged beside her, waiting as his yellow orbs darted ever so often from the sphere to the beautiful feline, a sign of impatience.

A smile slowly formed on her lips; her eyelids opening and her acid green hues looked his way. "I now see the path to our glorious victory and sweet revenge; we will soon meet up with them" Daiyu chuckled, "When?" he asked, his yellow eyes glinting in excitement "soon, but for now we must wait a bit longer" she replied.

Tai Lung was not satisfied with the jade's answer, his eyes narrowed, abruptly getting up; he flexed his claws and punched the cave wall, chunks of rock falling off, a large dent created by his fist "I'm tired of sitting in this cave doing nothing for so long! I want to get my claws in that fat panda and my pathetic old master!" The leopard snarled at the panther, his patience wearing thin.

Daiyu narrowed her feline eyes, "Do not raise your voice at me!" She hissed, getting up and walking towards the male leopard, her tail flicking in annoyance while flexing her own claws; her claws were not a normal grey or black, they were pure gold, making them stand out in her black fur; she placed her clawed index finger under Tai Lung's chin.

"Patience, we will succeed if you do exactly as I say, you do not have the power to defeat them alone, a great example is your failed attempt at beating a panda and right now you have not recovered your full strength yet" she stated, causing the leopard to bare his teeth; he abruptly backed away from her and snarled, his claws flexing "You dare insult me! What makes you think I actually need your help!" He towered over her at least two feet as he stomped over to her and glared into her eyes; something that would make even a fully armed rhino run away screaming like a girl.

But the black jade didn't even bat an eyelash at him "Remember who kept you alive up until now, so I suggest you respect me" was her only answer.

Tai Lung paused but then growled in anger, his temper flaring "I never needed your help in the first place! I will not follow any orders from you, Witch!" he pointed at her and before he could react, she grabbed the finger pointing at her, her eyes glinting in fury at the last word that left his mouth.

"The Wuxi-finger-hold is not something someone can toy with… it is a technique that just by the flex of their pinkie, they release their Chi out onto the world, destroying whatever the person that possesses that Chi pleases in whatever distance it reaches, depending on the strength of that person's Chi."

Tai Lung's ears flattened in frustration as a growl escaped his throat.

"And the person that is caught in the Wuxi finger hold, their Chi along with the rest of the body will instantly perish like someone would perish in a nuclear bomb explosion."

The leopard narrowed his eyes even more, "I'm not here for a lecture! I already know all of that!" he started but was interrupted by Daiyu.

"Then you must also know that it took every ounce of my Chi to get you out of there in one piece; limbs and everything." The panther whispered deadly, lifting her free paw and tracing her claw over his fur up to his cheek, their noses barely touching as a dangerous glint appeared in her eyes, making the leopard freeze.

"I had to create an optical illusion with my magic for that panda to not notice me take you to safety before the Wuxi-hold had fully taken effect on you; I had to treat you to the best of my healing abilities for weeks before you could even manage to walk! We were lucky, apparently the panda only had the want to destroy you and leave everything else in peace or I wouldn't have been able to save you"

Daiyu glanced at her paw that was holding his finger, a smirk spreading across her face as Tai Lung gasped, realizing what she was doing.

She lifted her pinkie finger, having him caught in the Wuxi-finger-hold…

The male leopard stared with wide eyes, slight fear glinting in his yellow hues "Just so you know, everyone's Chi tends to be different and reacts differently to everything… While the panda's was similar to the nuclear bomb I mentioned earlier, mine tends to be a bit gory" she cackled, making the grey skinned spotted feline swallow an uncomfortable lump in his throat.

The black jade pulled him down on his knees; Tai Lung grunted but didn't dare protest, feeling some of Daiyu's Chi hum in the palm of her paw, meaning that she activated it.

"Now listen carefully, I saved you because I find you useful for my plans and found that it would serve your interest as well; you have two choices: 1. you listen to every word I say and have your revenge along with mine or 2. You die. You choose, no pressure" she smirked, already knowing the answer.

Tai Lung flattened his ears once more, "Fine" he growled out, averting his gaze as the panther grinned, "Good, I wouldn't have wanted to waste all of my time taking care of you only to pick you up with a sponge in the end." A small chill ran up the leopard's spine with those words.

"Remember that you are dealing with a sorceress here; I can heal you but I can also damage your body in the most painful ways without even needing to look at you" Daiyu said and let him go, turning around and sitting back down in front of the sphere of gold liquid the size of a beach ball.

"Exactly! With my strength and your magic, why not attack right now? You have enough power to take them down in a flick of a finger!" Tai Lung exclaimed and looked at the panther, not understanding her ways.

Daiyu only chuckled, "Silly leopard, you still don't get it do you?" she smirked at him, showing her pearly white teeth, her green hues glowing in the darkness.

"…"

"I simply kill the ones I have mercy on and decide to end it quickly; however, the way I get my revenge on someone is in the sweetest of ways…" she cackled, twirling her claw in the gold substance of the sphere, making it change image. The five warriors fighting the earth creatures appeared in the sphere, slowly weakening as they continued fighting, looking for her while doing so.

What they didn't know was that she was miles away from where they fought, deep in a cave in one of the many mountains of the valley of peace, more specifically, the farthest one from the village; they were so deep in the cave that they couldn't even hear the raging storm outside.

Tai Lung was getting irritated with being left in the dark; even if he had been living with her for a few months to heal, he didn't know anything about her plans and why she did what she did.

"Then how do you get your way of revenge? I'm tired of all of your mumbling! Why did you turn the panda into an infant? What gain could you possibly get by doing that?" the large leopard growled, his tail flicking in irritation.

Daiyu darted her eyes in his direction, annoyance playing in her green orbs, "You fool! The best way to harm the person you hate is not by brute force!" she hissed, glaring at him.

"Then what! What is it?" Tai Lung yelled, slamming his fist down on the ground out of frustration, his temper flaring again.

"Their heart you idiot! You attack their heart!"

…

Po snapped his eyes open.

A storm raged outside that night; the sound of rain droplets brutally hitting on the roof and the windows, lightning flashed and thunder clapped, creating dark shadows around the room.

Po was scared, he didn't like the storm; it was way too scary…

A tree branch was hitting on the glass of the window, the light that flashed making it look like a hand.

The little panda sat up on his little makeshift crib and peeked over the side of the wooden box, seeing a large, orange coated, stripped feline sleeping; a loud boom was heard, making him jump and slightly whimper as he got out of the safety of his bed.

He decided to quickly crawl over to the feline.

It had been 10 days since Shifu and the rest parted from the jade palace and since then, Tigress had slowly but surely grown a real soft spot for the young panda.

She had found out that the low rumbling she had made during the tongue bath was purring; much to the tiger's embarrassment. She had never purred in her life and that was indeed something new to her.

Catching herself ever so often smiling at him when she fed him and cared for him… when she saw a happy face on his features her heart soared… it was so foreign that she felt like she would do anything to get Po to smile or laugh…

Her purpose in life before was to get Shifu to be proud of her, to become a hardcore warrior, training for agonizing hours none-stop just to get the red panda to give her a nod in recognition, starving for his attention… all she ever wanted from Shifu was his love but she always failed to obtain it.

Now her purpose has changed… now she must become a caring, loving person to care for not a red panda… but a black and white one...

An amber eye cracked open when she heard a whimpering sound.

The tiger opened her eyes to see Po sitting on the wooden floor in front of her, she lifted her head off of the pillow, leaning on her elbow to stay up and looked at him in question, her eyes droopy and her voice a bit raspy from sleep "What's wrong Po?"

A whimper escaped his throat when lightning flashed again, looking at her with teary, pleading eyes; touching the futon she was lying on with his little paw.

"You're afraid" her question was more of a statement as a loud crackle was heard outside, soon getting louder and louder, another boom sounding off as lightning cleared the dark sky.

Po jumped again and looked around frantically, his eyes wide with fear as he curled against himself, stepping back, seeing the shadow of a hand reaching for him on the floor, "Aaahhh!" he cried in fear and ran into Tigress, crawling under her arms.

His paws slapped over his eyes as he stuffed his face under her lower chest above her stomach, his little body shaking like a leaf.

Her shirt started to dampen, soon realizing that he was crying when soft whimpers and sobs were coming from the baby panda, muffled by her clothing.

The tiger master remembered when she used to be afraid of storms too when she was a cub… now she has learned to fear nothing. All of those stormy nights alone with nobody to comfort you but your cold bed had taken some kind effect on a child.

She had faced all of her fears alone, with nobody to help her overcome them, even when Shifu took her in.

The first stormy night she had spent in the jade palace when she had gone to Shifu's room for comfort, he had yelled at her, not liking being disturbed in the middle of the night. He had told her that a warrior must learn to face his fears before he could really become a true kung fu master.

Tigress stared blankly at Po for a moment, watching him bury his face into her chest, wanting comfort.

The tiger master's eyelids lowered, now half-lidded, she stared silently at the scared cub as the raging storm outside blew various things around, making loud noises.

Should she do the same with Po? Should she push him away from her and leave him to deal with his fears alone like Shifu did with her? The treatment might have been harsh… but it did some sort of good to her… she was now a strong kung fu master, capable of fearing nothing and feeling nothing…

It might do some good to him too… Right?

The baby panda looked up at her with his big green eyes, tears smudged all over his face, sniffing and whimpering; practically begging her to protect him from the scary shadows and loud noises.

Wrong.

Tigress shook her head slightly, a small sigh escaping her.

No... Po wasn't her hard, impenetrable self... he was a cute, loving, light-hearted but strong willed, scared-y-cat of a panda even when he was an adult… by far the opposite of her… he could not withstand that sort of thing… and even if he could… she would not- _could not_ allow it.

It had been painful and terrifying for her as a cub.

The tiger couldn't let Po experience something so terrible… she just couldn't!

"Shhh… don't be scared, I'm here… Tigress is here… its okay" she whispered, stroking his back with her paw in a way to calm him down.

It worked; Po ceased his crying in a few minutes but he was still afraid of the storm, clinging to her and burying his head in her shoulder.

"I'm here…" she said, trying to think of a way to calm him down, just then a memory flashed in her mind…

.

_Back when she was still living in the Bao Gu Orphanage, two siblings slept in a room close to her own; two little bunnies. One was about nine years old and the other was still a baby… she had always left them alone after the incident where the older sibling, like everyone else she had ever glanced at, made it perfectly clear that he didn't want Tigress anywhere near himself or his little sister._

_One night when everyone was asleep, she sat on her bed playing with her fingers, feeling that hollow loneliness she had always felt... the sorrow… the hopelessness and fear that she was and would always remain alone forever. _

_But her sharp hearing caught the sound of low humming, making the curious tiger cub get up and place her ear on the door… when she noticed it came from nearby, she opened her door and stepped in the hallway even if they weren't allowed out of their rooms at night. _

_She followed her ears and finally reached a door not too far away; she pressed her ear on the door and realized that the humming was muffled sounds of someone singing; it was the older bunny sibling singing a lullaby to his baby sister… The words of that lullaby Tigress had heard that night pierced into her very soul and were forever imprinted in her memory._

_She sat on the floor in front of the door that night, remaining there, listening to the bunny until he finished his song…_

.

Tigress closed her eyes, remembering the words. Even if that bunny wasn't the best neighbor… she was thankful for him and his baby sister.

She licked her lips nervously; the tiger master had never even **tried** to sing before… not even once… so her voice might not be the best… but she hoped it would sooth Po.

The baby panda whimpered; the roaring thunder bolts striking down towards the ground yet again, the tiger master placed a paw on Po's head as the baby curled up against chest, his head resting on the futon but his eyes darting around in fear.

"_Come stop your crying; it'll be alright…_

_Just take my hand, hold it tight…_

_I will protect you from all around you…_

_I will be here, don't you cry…"_

Po stopped his whimpering; he stared at Tigress; her voice drowning out the loud noises and her glowing feline eyes scaring all of the shadows away… his stressed little body started to relax and soon his eyes started drooping as she kept singing; he turned around, gluing his back on her stomach and nuzzled the soft, silky fur on her arm that was just above his head; sucking his thumb.

"_For one so small, you seem so strong…_

_My arms will hold you, keep you safe and warm…_

_This bond between us can't be broken…_

_I will be here, don't you cry…_

A soft smile found its way on Tigress's lips… she already had a bond with Po even before he had turned into a cub but now the bond grew even more; these foreign feelings were something big and she knew it… this feeling…

'_Cause you'll be in my heart…_

_Yes, you'll be in my heart…_

_From this day on… now and forever more…"_

Tigress sighed in content when she finished her lullaby a few minutes later after repeating the words a few more times for Po to fall asleep.

She lay her head down next to the sleeping baby, curling up her body around him in a form of a circle as if she was protecting him from the storm going on outside.

Tigress had never let anyone in, not even Shifu, he was her master and she was his pupil… and the red panda was always careful to phrase it that way… It was none of the other's business to know what was going on in her subconscious and that included Po.

But he had started to grow on her like some sort of parasite… especially now…

But how? How could a baby panda shatter her most guarded barrier with just a smile in just 10 days when it took her years to build it? How is it possible for a chubby ball of fluff to make a hardcore warrior melt with a glance?

The answer was simple…

The tiger master wasn't so hardcore after all.

Unknowingly, Tigress fell asleep with a smile on her face… the smile that presented how at peace her soul was feeling at that moment… not a smirk, not a sneer… a genuine smile… a whole-hearted smile… the smile of her heart…

Her Inner smile.

…**.**

**Raven: I hoped you liked it! **

**Song: you'll be in my heart by Celtic Women (original by Phil Collins)**


	6. Chapter 6: The need to be needed

**NOTICE: When you finish reading the chapter I suggest you read what I have to say on the bottom of the page before you review.**

….

**Chapter six: The need to be needed…**

"Their heart?"

Tai Lung knew what she meant, yet he was confused. Why the heart?

Daiyu nodded, getting up from her position, her paws slapped together in a prayer, her long sleeves covering them and her green hues looked at him. "The Dragon warrior you had faced was one of the rare kind of warriors… his body could withstand your nerve-attack technique and hard blows; however, what truly made him special was his spirit. I sense his good nature from a mile away; he has the capability to place many people in his heart and is loved by many… something that is very useful for my plans."

"How is that useful for your plans?"

The black jade chuckled; her haunting, melodic voice echoing around the cave, "Because he has succeeded to crawl his way in our enemy's heart, something that nobody could have done before; but right now enough chit-chat, we will soon have guests."

…

"I'm going to get you!" a voice shouted in a sing-song tone along the large grassy field; feline eyes scanning the area.

The amber hues spotted black and white fluff hiding behind a small rock and a grin spread along a face.

"I see you Po!" a certain tiger chuckled; the said panda giggled and ran out of his hiding place as the kung fu master ran, on all fours, after him; a little slow to give the baby some kind chance at 'escaping' even thought that was very unlikely.

She pounced on him; the cub squealed in surprise and rolled on his back to look up at his captor.

It was none other than Tigress.

She smiled, "You think you could escape me?" Po gave her a pout, "Bah!" he replied, his eyebrows furrowing, he stuck his tongue out at her and the tiger lifted a brow at him, a full-blown smile gracing her face.

"Oh, now that's not nice… you need to be taught a lesson!" she sat down next to his lying form and lifted her paws, quickly running her fingers on his belly and neck before he managed to get up; his pout immediately disappeared, he burst out laughing as Tigress started tickling him.

"Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha!" He laughed and squealed, squirming and flailing his arms and legs around, trying to escape the tickle torture. A laugh escaped Tigress's chest, feeling happy and careless; freedom was the word?

She loved hearing Po laugh, it was like food for the soul; a baby's laugh really was something else.

"Had enough?" she grinned, stopping the tickling and picked him up from under the arms, falling on her back while doing so and held him up as he looked down at her, reaching for her face.

She placed him down and sat up but then he ran around her and jumped on her back; he held onto her neck as he climbed on the top of her head and bit her ear.

"Po! What did I tell you about biting me?" she play-scolded but the baby laughed; now fully lying on her head as he looked upside-down at her.

She leaned forward and Po rolled off of her head, falling on his back, "Oomph!" he grunted and quickly sat up, "Goo-goo!" he cooed, looking up at the tiger master with those infamous green gems.

.

Tigress had taken Po to a grassy plain near the pool of sacred tears (where Shifu had trained Po) as a sort of field trip.

Rocks stuck out of the field, their shapes odd and all different sizes; she and Po were playing around on the lush green grass in which was blowing softly in the wind, tickling their paws.

Po tried to imitate Tigress as he got on his four limbs, crouching low and let out a poor growl, trying to bare his teeth but couldn't, considering that he didn't have much.

The tiger chuckled and ruffled the short fur on his head, messing up the little tuff on his head "Oh, you scared me silly; I think Monkey's dolly just ran off screaming." She mock-gasped and the panda let out a huff when he realised that he didn't manage to scare her; she smirked at him.

.

The tiger master sat on one of the high rocks, meditating as Po played around in the grass, chasing a few butterflies or playing with himself.

A small smile graced her lips.

She had never felt so happy… at peace. For almost two weeks she had spent time with Po and it felt so good… so right… she never wanted them to end.

It's funny that exactly 11 days ago she couldn't wait for Shifu and the others to get Po to turn back to normal…

She paused.

Eleven days ago…

Tigress opened her eyes, the smile slowly vanishing, she looked down at Po who was happily running and jumping around as fast as a baby panda could. Her legs dangled from the edge of the high stone as she sat down and watched the little panda run around.

Eleven days ago she didn't want to have anything to do with baby Po…

Eleven days later she plays and cares for him like she had been doing it all her life.

Eleven days ago she was a hardcore warrior that felt nothing…

Eleven days later she was a loving and caring mother that felt everything…

If Shifu and the others do find Yun and are able to turn Po back… will she want them to?

Tigress shook her head, what was she thinking? Of course she'll want them to! They'll relieve her of him and take him off of her hands! Why not? Then she won't have to put up with his disgusting slobber, his smelly self… his sloppiness… his cute laughs, his adorable smiles, his hugs... his eyes that looked at her like he they told her that he needed her...

She knew that the state Po was in was temporary… meaning that when he turns back to an adult, it would be most likely that the memories he had created while he was a baby would be erased…

The tiger blinked, not liking the fact that _she was_ _not liking the fact_ that Po will soon be turned to normal.

If he turns back to normal then everything else would go back to normal… that means that the bond he and herself had created and shared these past eleven days would only be remembered by her… Po wouldn't remember anything… and nobody would know it ever existed but her… He wouldn't need her as an adult like he does now…

A strange, uncomfortable feeling settled in Tigress's chest at that thought…

She didn't like it… and what she didn't like even more was that she knew why.

Tigress had grown attached to little Po and him not remembering the things they had done and shared together, made her chest sting.

"Goo-Ga!" a voice shouted; Tigress snapped out of her thoughts and her glazed over vision cleared again as she looked down to see Po looking up at her.

She jumped down and kneeled in front of the cub, "What is it Po?" she asked and he grinned, lifting his arms for her to pick him up. The feline smiled and did what he wanted, she jumped back on the high rock and she sat down cross-legged with Po in her lap as they both looked on at the beauty of the mountains and the rest of the scenery bathed in orange light, signalling sunset.

Po looked around in amazement because he was so high up, his sparkling eyes wide with awe; Tigress gave a small chuckle, imaging and almost hearing the baby panda shout the word 'Awesome!'

They say a person needs his someone and that someone in return needs to be needed by his person…

Her parents didn't need her, Shifu didn't need her and the others didn't need her either… but Po now needs her… he depends on her to care for him.

If Po turned back into an adult then he won't need her anymore like he does now…

A large wave of sadness hit her like a tsunami as she stared at the baby in her arms.

The cub yawned and stretched his little arms, tired all of a sudden; he curled up in her arms and nuzzled her chest, cracking an eye open to look up at her and then closing it again as he drifted off into a comfortable sleep with a smile on his face.

Tigress gave a small smile in return, breaking at the thought of being forgotten… but for now she will enjoy her time with the cub as much as she can until then…

She brought her lips on his forehead, "Sleep tight Po… my little panda…" she whispered, blinking back something that was irritating her eyes.

Eleven days ago she didn't care if she was needed.

Eleven days later she needs to be needed.

…..

**Raven: Every review I've read here is about how cute Tigress and Po are and how their bond here is something so awesomely adorable; I know that they are.**

**But can you guys comment on whatever else? Like Daiyu or the others? Don't you guys have questions on what's going on or come up with different theories on why Daiyu wants revenge or why Po is turned into a baby or what you think will happen to Shifu and the others later or something? **

**Not to pressure you or anything but I would REALLY love something else to hear than "aw so cute! I love it! Update soon!" or something along those lines because it's getting tiring hearing the same thing over and over and over again! Every review I've ever seen here has the word 'cute' in it, no matter how you use it! **

**Yeah you could comment about Tigress and Po, I'm not saying you can't, but can you comment about them in a way without the words 'Oh! They are so cute!'…? Yes I know they're cute but don't you have anything else to say about them other that that? I mean, can you make the review a teeny tiny bit longer on what you think? **

**Wouldn't YOU get tired of seeing the same comments from different reviewers? **

**It's like people giving you a delicious piece of cheese pizza. It's tasty, but if you eat the same thing every single day then you soon get tired of eating it and want something else, like a burger or a pie or something…**

**Anyway I hope you enjoy and please don't give me another pizza anytime soon... can I have pie instead?**

**Yummy pie! Thank you!**


	7. Chapter 7: Trouble

**Raven: hey! Thank for the pies and pizzas! **

**But I see that a few here people misunderstood that I was practically demanding better reviews. Though it may have seemed that way, it doesn't mean I'm not grateful for even the simple reviews, I'm not demanding better reviews, I'm just asking for them because I got bored of the simple ones (but not ungrateful for them). The reason I'm not writing much about Daiyu or Shifu and the rest was because I wanted to create some suspense or more questions (meaning more reviews)… I also wanted you to see the bond Po and Tigress created during these chapters, that's why I was writing mostly on them and don't worry, I'll give you some more info right now so hold your horses. 0.0 **

**P.S. if any of you have anything to add on this specific problem we have then feel free to tell me but please don't make it a huge issue because I prefer to stick to the storyline and not anything that is not worth barking over.**

**Now that it's all cleared up, enough yapping and get reading! XD**

…**.**

**Chapter seven: Trouble**

Blue eyes snapped open, his head throbbed and his muscles ached. The beaten red panda lifted his head; blinking to clear his vision and he scanned his surroundings wearily… he looked down to see himself chained to a bulky, rock wall; the thick steel chains twisting around his rather small body tightly, spreading his arms wide on either side of him.

Shifu looked beside him to see his four students also chained to the wall just next to him in the same position with the exception of Mantis, who was literally glued to the wall with some weird green substance and Viper, who's body was forced in a vertical straight line, because she had no hands; Crane was still out cold and Viper was just starting to waken, Monkey and Mantis were already awake. "Master Shifu, are you alright?" the green bug asked as the red panda shook his head to rid himself of the black spots still playing in his line of vision "I'm alright, is everyone else alright?"

The replies he got which consisted of a few grunts and murmurs like "yeah, we're okay" satisfied the kung fu master and he turned his attention to his surroundings.

"Where on earth are we?" the red panda muttered and looked around in confusion for a few minutes; he noticed that they were in a cave, a large gold sphere floating a meter off the ground in the middle of the place that was the only source of light.

Crane groaned, starting to waken as well.

But Shifu's ears perked in surprise when a voice cut him out of his musings and looked to his right like the rest of his students.

"Hm-hm-hm… awake are we? Took you long enough" a voice chuckled as a figure stepped out of the shadows.

Shifu glared at her, "Yun!" the black panther silently walked over to him, her acid green orbs glinting while a smirk plastered itself on her face "Hello old coot, I see you and your little pack of trash decided to join the party?"

"Where are we? What do you want?" Shifu hissed as the panther looked at her sharp nails casually, "Me? Nothing." she feigned innocent and the red panda's glare hardened at that, "Stop playing games!"

"Grumpy much? Well… if you insist on finding out; I just want you to stay here and out of the way while I pay a little visit to an old friend of mine" she replied, humming happily, definitely in a good mood… that wasn't a very good sign for the five of her prisoners.

"What friend?" Monkey narrowed his eyes in confusion and suspicion but all turned their attention on Viper when she whispered one simple word…

"Tigress…"

Crane, who had now fully awakened, looked at the snake mistress in puzzlement, "Why Tigress?"

"Why else would she want us out of the way? It's either her or Po" Viper hissed, glaring at Daiyu.

"Correct" the jade grinned, her unsettling stare piercing each one of them.

Shifu didn't like this, she was after one of his students that were ordered to not leave the Jade Palace right now and he was imprisoned in this unknown cave along with the others.

But so many questions ran through his mind…

"If you are after one of my pupils; then why did you turn the dragon warrior into a child and run off instead of killing him before? Or go after Tigress when you had the chance? What are you planning?" the red panda growled, his ears flattening in anger.

Daiyu looked up at him, "What I'm planning? I'm not telling you! I'm not telling you!" She sang and waved her index finger in front of his face in a childish manner, laughing at Shifu's frustrated expression.

"Now, now Daiyu, don't make master Shifu too angry, he tends to get a bit annoying with his fits" another voice said and another figure walked out of the shadows, yellow eyes glowing in the darkness.

The five imprisoned warriors gasped in shock and disbelief as a grey clouded leopard also walked over next to Daiyu; "Oh come on now Tai Lung, don't spoil my fun" the panther pouted.

Shifu stared with wide eyes at the leopard before him… not believing his eyes "Tai…Lung?"

"In the flesh 'master'" Tai Lung mocked, coming face to face with the old warrior as blue clashed with yellow.

After looking into those same golden hues, Shifu's mind went blank…

"But… but how? Po defeated you…" Monkey murmured as the clouded leopard laughed, backing away from the frozen stiff red panda "Maybe your dragon warrior wasn't so great after all."

"Impossible! You can't be alive! He used the Wuxi-finger-hold! Nobody could escape something like that!" Mantis yelled; his eyes still wide with shock and confusion. "Well, anything is possible with a little magic" Daiyu replied, picking up a stick and waved it around mockingly, in front of Shifu's face, like a magic wand.

But the red panda didn't react to the gesture… he simply stared blankly at Tai Lung, eyes still wide.

Daiyu lifted a brow and waved her paw in front of his face, when she didn't get an answer, her smirk widened, "Wow… I think the old coot went into shock after seeing your pretty face Tai Lung, I wonder if he'll have a nervous breakdown."

"Did he? Shall I relieve you of your misery Shifu?" the leopard asked his stiff old master and flexed his paw, his sharp claws glinting in the soft light as he walked over to the him and placed his claws under the red panda's chin.

"Master!" the four of his students yelled; their eyes wide with fear of loosing him.

But just when he was about to end Shifu's life, a black paw grabbed his arm.

"No, Tai Lung."

The leopard glanced at Daiyu, "What?" a growl erupted in his throat while the black jade stared at him sternly, "Not yet."

"And why not?" Tai Lung questioned, his tail flicking in irritation, itching to slice Shifu's throat. But his ear twitched in confusion when another smirk spread across the panther's lips.

"Because remember what I said about the sweetest of revenge, let the old coot suffer for a while longer… and when we kill what is precious to him, including these menaces right here, we dispose of him last." She said, making the leopard grin, "You really are evil, I like the way you think" Tai Lung chuckled and retracted his claws.

Daiyu let go of his arm and turned towards her captives, "Well, I'd love to stay and chat but we've got some business to attend to with certain fellow kung fu masters" she said and picked up a sword that was lying on the wall near the magic sphere; Daiyu and Tai Lung turned to walk away.

But a voice stopped them.

"Wait!"

They turned around and looked at Viper, "What are you planning to do to them? Tigress is strong; you won't be able to defeat her so easily! Is that why you brought Tai Lung along with you 'Daiyu'? Because you don't stand a chance against her alone?" the snake mistress hissed, using the jade's real name.

The panther's eyes glinted dangerously at Viper's words but then she chuckled, "Oh no silly snake, I'm not going to fight her head-on and neither will Tai Lung… physical damage is not what I'm aiming for... not yet at least."

"Then what are you aiming for? Tell us!"

"Heh-heh-heh… Even the most hardcore warrior has a soft spot… for children…" Daiyu chuckled, noticing in her peripheral vision, Shifu flinch.

"What…?" Viper gasped… deeply hoping that she was wrong with the theory that just came in her mind.

"That's right… Even someone like Tigress, has a very vulnerable spot… I'm sure you know of this. You have it too… in fact; every female alive on this planet has it even if they don't know it. Actually, even some of the males have it, but theirs is not as strong as ours… right my friend?"

The snake mistress's eyes widened; "What is she talking about Viper?" Crane asked his reptile friend, the other two of the five warriors confused as well.

"You sick witch! How dare you do something so cruel and use that against her!" Viper yelled, hissing and spitting at the black panther, trying to break free and give her a piece of her mind; Monkey, Crane and Mantis were now very confused with the situation and had no idea what the panther and snake were talking about "What are you two talking about! What is this thing that is so cruel to use against Tigress?"

"You fools! Do you really want to know what I'm planning? Then answer this… What is the most painful loss a female could not endure?" Daiyu asked.

Everything was silent for a moment… nothing but the pulsing of the sphere and nothing but heartbeats and breathing was heard for a few seconds…

And one simple sentence that left Shifu's lips, drowned out every little sound that was left… creating complete silence.

"The pain of losing her child…"

…

Tigress sat in front of the peach tree of heavenly wisdom, leaning on it while reading a book as little Po played with her tail, giggling and cooing as she flicked it around to amuse him like always.

The two were just lazing around, doing nothing but relaxing…

These past few days had really loosened up her muscles and she liked the feeling of calmness…

But suddenly her shoulders tensed up, the fur on the back of her neck stood straight up and her whole being stiffened…

Po finally caught her tail; proud of himself for succeeding and he looked up to grin at her.

But he tilted his head in puzzlement when he saw the book slip through her fingers and fall to the ground… he cooed in confusion but she didn't even glance at him… she just stared at the horizon with wide eyes, making the panda even more confused.

Tigress finally snapped out of her stiffness when she felt someone shake her paw slightly and looked down to see Po sitting in front of her and staring at her with question filled eyes; she smiled to ease his mind and ruffled the fur on his head, "Oh, sorry Po, it's nothing; I just…uh… spaced out."

Po didn't know what 'spaced out' meant but if she was fine then it didn't matter to him; so he just settled for chewing on one of the dozen peaches piled up next to him in which Tigress had picked off the tree for him to eat if he ever got hungry.

Unknowingly to the baby panda; the orange coated tiger was very disturbed…

What was that feeling?

She had never have felt something like this before…

It was new…

And it wasn't pleasant…

It was like the wind itself carried a vile scent even if she smelled nothing but the sweet aroma of flowers and peaches… the sky seemed darker for a second and it was as if something like bells rang in the back of her mind to the point where she could almost hear them.

She didn't like this… it's like her subconscious was telling her something... but what?

The tiger master unconsciously pulled Po closer to her as a wave of protectiveness came crashing into her out of nowhere all of a sudden.

She didn't know how…

And she didn't know why…

But she just knew…

Something was going to happen soon…

…**.**

**Raven: You don't know how… **

**And you don't know why… **

**But you just know… **

**That you have to press the review button… XD**


	8. Chapter 8: Recognition

**Chapter eight: Recognition**

It was the first hour of the thirteenth day… exactly 1:00 AM in the morning. Two feline silhouettes sat on top of a mountain close to the village of the valley of peace, yellow and green eyes illuminating in the soft light of the full moon.

"Let's go" a female voice was heard in the blowing wind as the first shadow waved her paw to gesture for them to get moving and the two figures jumped off on all fours… their destination… the Jade Palace.

…

Tigress could not sleep that night.

She had been having this bad feeling since yesterday afternoon and she was on edge since then.

The tiger master glanced down at the baby panda curled up against her; sound asleep with Monkey's chewed up doll hugged against him. Ever since that stormy night, Po had decided he wanted to sleep with her instead of in his crib and the tiger simply couldn't refuse those puppy…eh…panda eyes.

She had been awake the whole night watching over him… she just couldn't sleep and let her guard down for some reason. Tigress blinked the tiredness away, she didn't know why she wanted to stay awake… she had no reason to… maybe she was just overprotective or something… yeah… she had no reason to stay awake… Tigress finally lay her head on the pillow, closing her eyes to let sleep take over.

But her eyes snapped open when her ear twitched; she shot her head up from the pillow, hearing a very faint and soft thud, like someone landed on the ground.

Master Shifu and the others were back?

The tiger narrowed her eyes; No… something was wrong… her gut told her otherwise… Shifu had always told her to trust her instincts and right now they screamed one word, a word that sent a chill down her spine and a fiery fierceness erupt in her chest…

Intruders…

…

Tigress swiftly got up without a sound, waking Po because he didn't feel her body heat anymore, "Goo?" he murmured, looking at her sleepily; the tiger opened the paper doors and her sharp sight scanned the hallway, nobody was there… the first thing she did was go back over to the cub and picked him up, quickly reaching Monkeys room, she lifted the loose wooden board and placed Po down; he turned to look up at her in question as she kneeled down and placed a finger over her mouth, "Shhh… stay here and don't make a sound" she whispered, placing the floorboard back in its place, the floorboard had a few cracks in it so the cub was able to breath.

Now with Po hidden, she got up and quickly left the room, peering around the hallways until she reached outside. Her shoulders tense and her five senses on high alert, she looked around for the assumed trespassers, hoping she was wrong.

Unfortunately, she was right.

"Hello Tigress" a voice made her head along with her body snap around 180 degrees to get a good look at the intruder.

A silhouette was seen in the shadow of the building, glowing green eyes clashing with amber. "Who are you? What do you want?" the tiger ordered, getting in a defense stance. "Oh come on now, I've traveled all this way just to see you, is that how you'll treat me?" the figure mocked, stepping out of the shadows.

White robe, black fur, green eyes… "You!" Tigress hissed at the smirking panther, "Yes it's me."

"What do you want Yun?" Tigress demanded.

…

Po listened to Tigress and stayed in his hiding place for a few minutes… it was dark and spooky under the floor but he didn't want to make her mad, so he did as told even if he was a bit afraid.

The cub's ears perked when he heard someone enter the room, the floorboards creaking under the weight of the person… he peeked through the small hole in the board and paused when he saw from the small opening, someone that wasn't Tigress… purple pants and a long, spotted tail that did NOT belong to Tigress…

"Where are you, you little brat?" a chill ran down the panda's spine when he heard a deep male voice growl menacingly as the figure looked around the rooms, opening various drawers, dressers and anything else the baby might fit in.

Who was he? He didn't recognize him… and he didn't like that person either, he was scary; but most importantly, where was Tigress?

Po flattened his ears, his eyes wide with fear as he tried to back away… but when he did, he accidentally bumped into a few empty bottles and other trinkets; making them shift and one of them fall down, creating a loud noise that made the figure pause and Po freeze.

Suddenly there was silence… The panda did not hear a sound… his little ears didn't pick up anything above the hiding place he was in… did the scary, unknown person leave?

In a split second the wooden planks that hid him were ripped off, little chunks of wood falling on the ground. A face appeared in the floorboard's place, a leopard kneeling before him.

His features sharp and menacing, his yellow eyes glinting dangerously as a grin spread on his face, baring his fangs and scaring Po "There you are!" a large grey paw reached down, abruptly and rather harshly picking up the cub by the scruff of his neck.

"Hello Po, remember me?" the leopard chuckled, flexing his claws while Po squirmed in his grasp, trying to escape but his attempts were futile.

….

"Yun? Well that's disappointing…" The panther frowned, "Oh well… you'll learn soon enough."

Tigress narrowed her eyes into slits, cautious of the witch "Learn what-?"

The tiger wasn't able to finish her sentence before a heart wrenching cry pierced the air, making Tigress's fur stand on edge. Her narrowed eyes widened and her pupils dilated into dots when that scream filtered through her ears… she knew that scream…

Po

She didn't have time to turn around before another figure leaped off the roof and landed gracefully on the ground near the black jade.

The figure got up, revealing a truly shocking sight…

"Tai Lung?" the tiger master's eyes widened, "Hello master Tigress, it is a pleasure to see you again, looking for him?" the leopard smirked, holding up a terrified baby panda.

Tigress wondered for a split second how, in the name of all that is good, was Tai Lung alive. But right now she had bigger worries.

"Good job Tai Lung, now hand over the brat" the black feline ordered and snatched the cub from him.

It was when she saw his green hues filled with fear, rage and fear of her own crawled its way into her; "Po!" Tigress shouted, her eyes darting from the cub to his captors, her features taking on a snarl when the jade snatched Po, making the cub whimper.

"Tut-tut-tut! Take one step and your little panda here is sushi" the panther said, holding up a sharp claw under Po's throat, making Tigress freeze in her tracks but never ceased her snarl; her eyes darting continually between the two "W-What do you want?" she growled out.

But she ignored her question, instead looking at the cub hanging in her grasp, "Aw, he's so cute, don't you agree Tigress? In fact, he's so cute I could just… eat him!" the black coated feline licked her lips as she lifted the struggling cub's arm with her free paw and opened her mouth, barring her pearly fangs as if she were about to bite him but paused and grinned when Tigress snarled, "Don't! You touch a hair on his head and I'll-!"

"You'll what? I could devour him before you could make the first step..." the panther cut in, smirking at the tiger, "And I think he'll go deliciously with some sake, a fair serving, am I right Tai Lung?" the leopard chuckled "Indeed."

The tiger master clenched her fists to the point where she was digging her claws into her palms… they were toying with her and she knew it… they were going to use Po so they could get what they wanted from her… if she tried to make a move they could kill Po… but if she did what they wanted she knew they would kill him anyway… it was a loose-loose situation…

She needed to think fast…

"Stop playing around! What do you want?" Tigress shouted, a growl erupting in her throat.

"Wow… you have taken a lot from Shifu… his impatience is one of them…" the panther stated, making the tiger growl again "Anyway, let's get down to business… where was I? Ah yes… what I want… hm… well… that depends" She fake-pondered, cupping Po's face and squeezed, forcing his cheeks and lips to pucker; his eyes were still wide and a bit teary from being so frightened, a few whimpers heard here and there, the black jade grinned "Oh… you little Schmooze-y-poo! You're adorable! It's hard not to see why Tigress loves you so much! You're so chubby and squishy! You know, when I finish her off you just might be my favorite chew toy! I would love to maul on something so soft!"

"ENOUGH!" Tigress roared; her lips curled in a snarl and her eyes wide with rage.

How **dare** they threaten Po! He never did anything wrong! She'll rip them to shreds if they even attempt to harm him! How DARE they try to hurt him!

"Temper, temper… another mistake like that and I just might have to kill him" the panther sighed, shaking her head sadly (sarcastically of course) "You wouldn't like that now would you Po?" she cooed sadistically and poked the cub's nose, "Are you here for Po? If you are, then I won't let you have him until you manage to kill me!" the tiger master hissed, taking her battle stance.

"What? That's it? No question as to why I changed him into a cub? No demand to change him back? Nothing? …Well, I'm surprised!" the jade snorted, a smirk spreading on her face again when Tigress didn't reply.

"If I didn't know any better, I would have thought that you **don't** want me to change him back!" she laughed, shaking the cub; the tiger didn't retort… her snarl slowly fading as she stared at the baby panda, and black-jade noticed this "Is that it? Is that the reason? What's wrong hardcore kung fu warrior? Developed some emotions? Can't let go?"

"If it's me you want; then just leave Po out of this! Let him go!" the tiger growled out, lowering her fists; the jade's brows lifted in amusement, "Well, well, well… alright, I'll let him go, if you answer this question correctly… and no cheating!" the panther said the last part rather childishly, causing a memory to tug at the back of Tigress's mind.

"Here's the question… what's my name?"

Her name? But wasn't her name Yun? …No… that obviously isn't if she were to ask that question… but the way she said that sentence about 'no cheating' made her remember something… like a flashback… she knew this panther… but from where? How? When?

Tigress looked deep into those acid green orbs… and a familiar face entered her line of vision.

It then clicked as the memory fully surfaced, causing Tigress to gasp, eyes widening…

"Daiyu…?"

The jade grinned, "Correct answer."

…

**Raven: hoped you like it! **

**By the way, whoever knows 'Martin Mystery' I'm telling you that I'm writing a fanfic on it, so whoever's interested to read and review, go to my page and click on the story that says 'Martin Mystery: Attack of the soul-breaker!' I would GREATLY appreciate reviews on that! Maybe even run out on the street at 3:00 am in the morning and scream "YEAAAAHHH!" Lolz!**


	9. Chapter 9: Shifu's breakdown

**Raven: Holy crap! How long has it been? A year since I've written a chapter? Nah, only a few months… Don't kill me PLEASE! *Dodges bullets, knives, grenades and mint pies* NOOOOO not MINT pies! AAAAHHHHH! **

***ahem* anyway, sorry for the very… very late update, I've been writing some of my books I plan to finish AND I have other things to do… you know… cook, shop, baby-sit, laziness… the usual dude! I HAVE a life you know… just like you.**

**But anyway enough of my rant; get reading… Spoiled brats… *shoe comes out of nowhere and hits head and is now unconscious***

**Loading…**

…

**Chapter nine: Shifu's breakdown**

Shifu's mind was blank… yet his heart was full of every negative emotion you could possibly think of.

Shock, hurt, pain, disbelief, powerlessness, despair, sadness, anguish and that lingering feeling of betrayal… but the emotion that ruled over… was horror.

He was indeed horrified that Tai Lung… the clouded leopard he raised, nourished, trained, fed, loved…_created_… the very monster Po destroyed… he had stood in front of him what seemed like moments ago; walking, talking, breathing; _living!_

It was impossible! Tai Lung was defeated! He was supposed to be dead! Nothing but dust! How can this happen? How can this be? It can not be true! His mind could not process the fact that Tai Lung was alive; he simply could not digest it.

_Tai Lung is alive..._

Shifu's body went limp as his mind shut down, not allowing any other thoughts to enter… letting darkness wrap its wings around him.

…

The four warriors struggled with the chains, trying to break them but with no avail…

"Darn it! These chains are too tight! I can't move!" Crane grunted as the four warriors struggled with their bindings, "Guys we need to hurry! Master Shifu! What should we do?" Mantis said as all looked at their teacher… but the red panda did not respond.

His head was down, his eyes closed and his body limp, looking as if he were in immense pain, yet no wound was seen on his body; "Master Shifu! Wake up!" Monkey stressed out, knowing that he wasn't unconscious; but Shifu refused to respond…

"Master Shifu! You need to stay with us! We need to get out of here and help Tigress and Po!" Viper yelled, trying to get through to Shifu but failing…

"He's not responding! What do we do?" Crane said as the four warriors struggled with no avail.

…

All this time after Tai Lung's 'death'… the peace he felt… it was all just an illusion…

_Master Shifu…_

He hated himself… he was foolish to believe that Po was able to defeat Tai Lung once and for all; what was he thinking? The nightmare he created was never going to go away…

"Master Shifu!"

Tai Lung was his curse… he understood that now… the leopard will always be there, destroying little pieces of his life, haunting his thoughts, his dreams, he will always find a way to come back to shatter his heart he tried to pick up and put together again.

"**MASTER SHIFU!" **

Shifu's eyes snapped open, his head turning to see Viper's infuriated expression, "MASTER SHIFU SNAP OUT OF IT!" the snake mistress hissed and everyone's eyes widened… Usually the calm and collected snake was now shaking with rage and frustration, she had never yelled before… it was shocking to all of them.

"I know that the fact that Tai Lung's alive is shocking but right now we have more important matters on our hands! He and Daiyu are going after Po and Tigress! Two of your loyal students! I think they're more important! We can't just sit around here doing nothing while Tigress fights to defend Po! She'll need help! As strong as she is she cannot take BOTH Tai Lung AND Daiyu!" Viper yelled, causing Shifu's eyes to widen but then he looked away, ears flat.

Viper's eyes narrowed "Fine if you won't help them then we will!" she said and looked at the chains; she looked around for anything she could use…

Just then she remembered how Tai Lung escaped from prison… using a feather, Shifu had taught him that… and good for them that the furious five knew the art of escape well… but their arms and legs were chained… Viper then spotted Monkey's tail.

A light bulb flicked on with that… "Crane, pluck off one of your feathers with your beak!" the bird looked at her in question, "Why?"

"Just do it!" the snake ordered and Crane did just that, wincing a bit from the small pain, "Now toss it over to Monkey!"

Crane blew the feather towards the golden furred monkey, but the feather just floated down to the ground. "Great… Now what?" Mantis said and the snake smirked, "Perfect! Now Monkey, remember the escape technique Master Shifu showed you using your tail!"

The primate then understood and nodded, he grabbed the large feather with his tail and with a bit of difficulty placed the feather in the chain's lock where his feet were and started fiddling with it.

After a few minutes a click was heard and Monkey had freed his feet; being the monkey that he is, grabbed the feather with his feet and started on the locks on his arms…

After Monkey was freed, he started releasing the others, the chains falling to the ground.

Shifu stared at his students as they released themselves; a small feeling of pride whelming his chest… they had certainly improved immensely since he first took them under his wing.

Monkey released Shifu and the four masters looked at him.

Just then Shifu soaked in this realization… Tai Lung wasn't the only student he had loved… the furious five had worked hard and maybe even harder then tai Lung to reach where they are today… especially Tigress, she tried so hard to get his acknowledgement.

And now it was his turn to pay a little attention to them… Po and Tigress needed help… and they needed him.

The red panda narrowed his eyes in determination; yes… he will come to their aid.

"Let's go." Shifu ordered and Viper smiled as the five warriors rushed towards the exit.

The five masters stood on the high mountain… "It might take us quite a few hours to get there Master… we better hurry!" Crane stated and Shifu nodded, "Yes… this time Tai Lung WILL go down, and the one to defeat him will be me… I was the one who created him… and I will be the one to destroy him." The red panda said, his face taking on a stony façade and his body tensing as the warriors set off towards the Valley of Peace.

…

"Daiyu? But how?" Tigress gasped, shock written all over her face, the black jade grinned, "It's been quite a while right? Tell me Tigress, how have you been? Conscious clean?" Daiyu snarled, shaking Po harshly as the cub whimpered in fear.

"What are you talking about?"

The panther laughed, "Oh please! Don't tell me you don't remember!"

Tigress narrowed her eyes worryingly at Po as the cub looked at her helplessly, reaching his little arms towards her, "I-I don't! What do you want?"

Daiyu grew angry at Tigress's lack of memory, "You little wench! Then I'll make you remember!" she yelled and flexed her sharp claws and lifted her hand to swipe a blow at Po.

"NO!"

…

**Raven: Yeah about Po defeating Tai Lung… I know he was the dragon warrior and all but I really think that only the creator of a monstrosity can destroy it again… A.K.A. Shifu.**

**I hope you enjoy it and review please! ^^; …just don't kill me…**


	10. Chapter 10: Tigress and Daiyu

**Raven: nothing to say here; but because you've all been whining about me being so slow (and I don't really blame you: P) I have made this chapter longer than the others or something. And don't expect anything else from me too fast alright?**

…

**Chapter ten: Tigress and Daiyu**

The atmosphere was tense, he could feel it, the poor cub had no idea what was going on and he was scared, he didn't like the black feline holding him and the other spotted one next to her was even scarier to him.

He looked at the only familiar face, Tigress. She looked very worried, almost scared.

The cub squirmed, wanting to go to Tigress, he didn't like the Black Panther; when he realized he couldn't escape, he started sniffing, trying to grasp the tiger master not 50 meters away.

Then the feline holding him; shook him hard, it hurt his neck and he whimpered in fear. The black feline and Tigress were shouting at each other, he did not understand the conversation and he didn't want to, all he wanted was to be in Tigress's warm embrace, he didn't like this one's cold touch. It sent a chill down his spine.

His eyes widened in fear when the female shouted "You wench! I'll make you remember!" he saw the black jade lift her paw and come down at him, about to hit him. He shut his eyes…

…

"NO!"

"WHAAA!" a shrill scream pierced the air.

Droplets of blood trickled down to the ground.

Daiyu grinned and retracted her claws from Po's arm… she licked the blood off of her paw, "Hm, he tastes sweet"

Hearing the cub's screams, Tigress's pupils dilated, adrenaline pumped in her veins, her facial expression took on a fierce snarl and before even she can comprehend, she was racing towards Daiyu.

But Tai Lung got in her way, he went to give her a punch but she dodged quickly, gave a roar of fury and attacked.

Daiyu chuckled, "Interesting" she watched Tigress fight Tai Lung, the panther noticed the tiger's ire; she was attacking the leopard savagely, not at all like she usually fights. She still used kung fu moves, but there were no punches or kicks; instead, Tigress clawed at the leopard, even snapping her jaw at times.

The panther innocently petted Po on the head, as if she didn't just dig her claws into his flesh; the baby cried, helpless, adding gas to Tigress's anger.

Daiyu chuckled, and trailed a finger over Po's wound; when she did, the wound was gone…. "Can't have you die from blood loss yet" she told the baby.

She noticed Tai Lung started to tire and snorted, she jumped on the top of the jade palace walls, Tigress noticed this and turned to see when she pushed Tai Lung away enough "Get over here!" she snarled, her voice deeper than usual.

She dodged another attack from the leopard and ran towards Daiyu on all fours, Daiyu smirked and dodged the tiger's attack, doing a back flip and sprinted on the palace's roof.

Tigress snarled and followed her quickly.

The black jade smirked and set Po down quickly, jumping out of the way as Tigress landed where she was, standing over Po protectively; her fur standing on edge in fury. Tigress looked down at her cub for a moment, noticing that his wound wasn't there, relief filled her as she held him close and looked back at Daiyu, snarling.

Tai Lung came after them, stopping when Daiyu held up her hand.

For a second it seemed as if the world froze for a few minutes.

…

The three stood motionlessly. Tigress and Daiyu never taking their eyes off each other; now that she knew that Po was safe with her, Tigress contained herself, but newfound hate for Daiyu burned in her amber eyes.

"Remember now?" Daiyu asked, tapping her chin.

Tigress narrowed her eyes but didn't answer.

"Very well then, let's settle this, the old fashion way." Daiyu said; her face stony, she took off her robe, underneath was a dark purple shit and black pants, a simple kung fu outfit.

"Tai Lung, company is on the way… go" she told him and the leopard nodded, sprinting off.

Tigress narrowed her eyes "What?"

Did she mean the others?

She wasn't sure but she had no time to think as a kick aimed her way, Tigress grabbed Po and dodged; she couldn't fight… not with Po in between them… she needed to get him somewhere safe...

Tai Lung had left, so all she had to worry about was Daiyu…

"Get over here and fight like a real warrior!" The panther snarled as she landed on all fours on the roof, her stance menacing as she glared down at Tigress.

The tiger growled at her and set Po down, in an empty box near a small old shack next to the palace.

Knowing that Po was safe for the moment, she flexed her claws and jumped up on the roof after Daiyu.

The two warriors glared each other down, unmoving for a moment… as if to predict the one another's moves…

"I still don't understand Daiyu, what has Po or any of the others ever done to you for you to do this to them?" Tigress demanded, emotionless; taking a fighting stance, her muscles tensing.

Daiyu chuckled, "They became friends with you" she simply stated and before Tigress managed a reply, she sprinted forward, her long claws stretched forward to rip the tiger apart.

Tigress dodged, grabbing her paw and went to throw a punch but Daiyu caught it, she tried a kick but the stealthy panther slipped away and charged at Tigress again, throwing a clawed hand towards her, she managed to catch Tigress's cheek as the tiger kicked Daiyu away.

The jade caught herself and landed on her feet, skidding a few meters back.

A few red drops fell to the ground as Tigress wiped her wounded cheek free of crimson.

The two felines snarled as they charged at each other again.

Punches, claws and kicks landed for a while, dodging and attacking; the battle went on for a bit, until Daiyu jumped away from Tigress, panting slightly but she crouched low and with a snarl, small yellow glowing orbs started forming just on the tip of her fingers until they reached the size of ping-pong balls.

With a swipe of her hand, the yellow spheres of energy shot towards Tigress at lightning speeds, leaving a trail of yellow light behind them; with a gasp, the tiger barely managed to leap out of the way. As she dodged the orbs exploded like bombs behind her, reaching a fairly large radius of a few meters.

Daiyu kept throwing her deadly magic at Tigress as the tiger tried to dodge. But there were too many and some of the orbs hit her head-on as they exploded near her and even on her.

She yelled in pain and was thrown backwards, coming to a stop as she landed on her belly, slipping on the edge of the jade palace roof, half of her body off the side; she grunted and climbed back up on the roof with slight difficulty.

"Damn you…" Tigress growled and Daiyu replied with a sneer "It's your fault!" Daiyu yelled as she shot more magic at Tigress.

…

Po hid in the box, scared to come out… where was Tigress?

He heard loud explosions, yells and punches and kicks being thrown; he didn't like those noises. The cub peeked out of the box. The sun was almost completely set, a few rays just barely touching the horizon. He looked up, the loud noises were coming from there and for a second he heard Tigress's yell.

He needed to find her; the cub looked around; making sure no other bad person was around to hurt him. He braved the danger and climbed out of the box; he looked up again… he somehow knew the stripped feline was up there… he needed to get up there… but how?

The baby cooed and smiled when his sight caught a long snake like metal thing, it zigzagged and went all the way up to the roof. That was his ticket up; the rain pipe.

He climbed up the first line and held it as firmly as a baby panda could; trying not to fall, he soon reached the second line…

…

The two felines clashed once more, Daiyu threw a punch but Tigress caught it as she did the same, only for Daiyu to catch her hand as well; The panther's hands were glowing yellow… her Chi was starting to burn Tigress's paws…

The tiger master grunted in pain as their hands sizzled slightly but never broke eye contact.

She looked deep into Daiyu's eyes… she saw the hate clearly burned inside her…

"You… destroyed… my life!" Daiyu snarled as they pushed forward towards one another, trying to overpower each other.

"What?" Tigress's eyes widened as she gritted her teeth, her paws burned and her feet shifted back slightly as Daiyu pushed forward.

…

_**It was sunset; a young feline sat in a small flowery meadow, picking off a lily as she hummed to herself.**_

"_**Hey Tigress!" a voice giggled, the young tiger looked behind her to see a young black panther wave at her, she waved back, "Hey Daiyu!" the five year old tiger waved back, a grin plastered on her face.**_

_**The tiger ran across the small meadow towards her friend, behind the panther was a large building… **_

'_**Mao orphanage' was written in large words over the door as many young felines entered.**_

"_**Race ya there!" the panther said and they both ran towards the orphanage as the bell rang, signaling it was time to go inside.**_

_**.**_

"_**Roar! I'm a ninja!" the panther grinned and jumped on the tiger as they wrestled around playfully. "I'm! I-I'm a… um…" Tigress thought for a moment as they paused for a sec, "I'm a kung fu warrior!" she grinned and jumped on Daiyu and continued their playing, chasing each other and wrestling. **_

"_**Hey you two time for bed! No more playing around!" they heard an older mountain lion scold them; she was their nanny.**_

"_**Okay" they chorused and climbed into their beds. After a while the light shut; Daiyu sneaked over to Tigress's bed, "Hey Tigress" she nudged the sleepy tiger cub, "What is it?" Tigress yawned; "I took one of the story books from the library! The one they didn't let us read!" she whispered and took out a flashlight.**_

"_**But isn't stealing bad?" young Tigress asked, "I'm not stealing it! I'm borrowing it! I'll take it back in the morning!" young Daiyu said and opened the book; "Oh okay!" Tigress smiled and got comfortable as they started reading. **_

_**.**_

"_**Hey Daiyu?" Tigress muttered as the two picked flowers in the field.**_

"_**Hm?" was Daiyu's reply.**_

"_**We'll be friends forever right?"**_

_**Daiyu thought about it, "They told me that forever is long time" she then grinned at Tigress, "Yup! We're gonna be friends forever and ever!" **_

_**Tigress grinned but then gasped in surprise as she was pushed to the ground, the panther giggled, "Tag! You're it!" she laughed and ran away.**_

_**Tigress laughed too as she got up and began chasing her.**_

…

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Tigress gritted her teeth, the flashbacks coming full thrust like Daiyu's power. She was weakening as Daiyu's Chi invaded her body.

"Oh yeah? Then here's a little reminder! Remember that day at the Mao orphanage? That's where it all started!" the panther snarled.

…

_**A leopard rang the bell, signaling that it was the day that some lucky kids were going to get adopted.**_

"_**Oh boy! You think we're gonna be lucky?" Tigress asked as the two ran down the hallway of the large building; "I hope so!" Daiyu said.**_

_**The two looked around, seeing many adults that have come to adopt a child. "Good luck Tigress!" Daiyu said and ran off in a random direction, hoping to find a parent.**_

_**Tigress didn't know where to go; "Uh… hey Daiyu wait!" she ran after the panther but couldn't spot her in the crowd.**_

_**.**_

_**Daiyu looked around and spotted two felines, one of them was a lioness, the other a panther –just like her- 'They are the ones!" she thought to herself and skipped happily towards them.**_

"_**Hello!" she smiled and the two soon to be parents smiled back, "Why hello there young lady!" the male panther greeted and gave her a smile as the two adults kneeled down to talk to the cub.**_

_**.**_

_**Tigress looked for Daiyu, "Daiyu! Daiyu where are you?" **_

_**She soon spotted a black cub, Tigress smiled "Daiyu!" she happily ran towards the panther, seeing two adults with her.**_

"_**She found parents?" Tigress grinned "I better go tell her good luck!" she said and ran to her friend.**_

_**But she tripped and fell. She fell in between Daiyu and the two adults.**_

"_**Oomph!" Tigress shook her head and sneezed from the dust on the ground, apparently the two adults found that 'cute' **_

"_**Are you alright dear?" The lioness asked her as the two kneeled next to the tiger cub.**_

_**Daiyu noticed how the two adult felines immediately turned their heads to Tigress instead of her… soon they began talking to her, like Daiyu wasn't even there.**_

_**After they were done, they walked away from the two girls, Daiyu decided to eavesdrop and she gasped with what she heard. **_

"_**Oh the little tiger cub is so cute! Taka, can we adopt her instead?" the lioness told her husband; he thought about it but nodded, making Daiyu give a soft gasp… **_

"_**Daiyu?" Tigress came up behind her; the panther looked at Tigress… **_

_**They liked Tigress better than her.**_

_**Daiyu glared at the tiger cub as she stared in confusion; the panther cub pushed her down and ran away, tears in her eyes.**_

"_**Daiyu what's wrong?" Tigress yelled but the two adults turned to her attention, "Hello again little lady" the male panther smiled, "Hello" Tigress said, "You seem like a fine young cub, we were thinking… that maybe you would like to come live with us?" the lioness asked, a warm smile on her face. **_

_**This is what Tigress always wanted… for someone to look her way… to adopt her…**_

_**But the cub shook her head, "I'm sorry but my friend needs me!" Tigress said and ran towards the direction Daiyu did.**_

…

Daiyu snarled "You just HAD to come along and ruin my chance at being happy! The second you showed up they immediately looked your way! Completely forgetting I was right in front of them! You ruined my chances of having parents! That was the only time an adult had looked my way! And you destroyed it!" the panther yelled.

Tigress couldn't hold it any longer, Daiyu managed to overpower her… Daiyu yelled and punched Tigress's stomach, leaving a dent in the roof under her body as Tigress gasped in pain.

"How… was that… my… fault? They made their choice… not… me!" Tigress gasped as Daiyu grabbed her throat.

"That wasn't the only time!" she roared and threw another punch to her gut, grabbing the tiger master by the collar of her shirt.

…

_**Young Tigress was sad… Daiyu didn't want to talk to her anymore and became really mean to her since that day…**_

_**She had no friends since then…**_

_**Daiyu had made friends with the bullies of the orphanage and picked on her often. She was often punished for that but never wavered from bullying her…**_

"_**Hey scared-y-cat!" Tigress heard Daiyu yell, she tensed and fearfully turned to look at the black panther… three more bullies had come up behind her.**_

_**Daiyu grabbed Tigress by the collar of her shirt, "You're in OUR spot! Leave or I'll make you!" she snarled, baring her fangs.**_

_**Tigress narrowed her eyes… she was tired of Daiyu pushing her around lately… she didn't like it at all.**_

"_**No! I was here first!" Tigress shot back and slapped Daiyu's hand away from her shirt. The panther snarled, "Oh yeah? Then I'll make you!" **_

_**Daiyu jumped at Tigress.**_

_**The two got into a harsh fight, not at all like the play fights they used to have… this one had biting, kicking, punching and clawing as the other kids watched either fearfully or cheered on…**_

_**But tigress was stronger than Daiyu and she pinned her down, punching her in the face repeatedly.**_

_**The other 3 bullies pitched in the fight and Tigress grew aggressive; her temper flaring.**_

_**She had taken all of them down. Releasing strength she didn't know she had before.**_

_**The 3 bullies and Daiyu were bleeding and Tigress turned to the other kids, snarling, they grew scared and they all ran away, a few ran to the nannies to tell on her.**_

…

"You humiliated me in front of the others!" Daiyu shouted, choking the tiger, "You humiliated yourself!" Tigress gasped as she kicked the panther off, tensing her muscles to attack when the moment is right.

"You were the one who attacked me! And because of you they thought I was too dangerous for the Mao orphanage and sent me to the Bao Gu Orphanage because there was no other predator there for me to fight with!" Tigress yelled, "Everyone thought I was a monster there!"

Daiyu chuckled, "You are, in a way, a monster! At least I have the satisfaction of making at least a part of your life hell too!" she sneered.

Tigress growled and charged at her, they fought brutally, droplets of blood hitting the ground,

"Is this why you're here? To get revenge from our childhood?" Tigress shouted.

Daiyu roared, "Yes! That and another reason! You took my place as an honorable kung fu warrior!"

…

_**It was the time where young teenagers trained to become kung fu warriors… **_

_**Tigress had trained hard during the time after Shifu had adopted her from the Bao Gu orphanage.**_

_**Today was when all the young warriors from miles around came to Gomen city to fight their way to the top. From the thousand warriors-in-training, only 500 of them will make it to be true warriors.**_

_**Many young warriors fought each other until one of the two was unconscious. The winner was one step closer to become a master.**_

_**It was soon Tigress's turn…**_

_**She was nervous and looked at her master for comfort… but she found none, "Tigress, do not show fear; if you do your enemy will have an advantage!" Shifu had told her sternly.**_

_**The 13 year old tiger swallowed the lump in her throat and proceeded to the arena when her name was announced…**_

_**She waited for her opponent's name to be called… and much to her horror… it was…**_

_**On the scoreboard… was her name written next to an all too familiar one…**_

_**TIGRESS VS DAIYU**_

_**Was written on it as clear as day… her eyes widened and she saw those two green orbs glowing in the darkness of the dark doorway; soon, Daiyu herself stepped into the light.**_

"_**Nice to see you again, Tigress!" 14 year-old Daiyu sneered as the young tigress gave a low growl "I can't say the same" was her reply.**_

_**The bell rang and the match began… the crowd cheered and the two fought…**_

_**In a certain part of the match… Daiyu threw dust in Tigress's eyes, blinding her for a second as she then punched her in the gut with her fingers that should have caused damage to her.**_

_**But Tigress only staggered a bit, coughing slightly; she had been punching the ironwood trees for 6 years, her body had hardened to an extent and she was not affected much.**_

_**To Daiyu's shock, where her opponent should have been knocked out; Tigress charged at Daiyu and attacked.**_

_**Soon Tigress had her pinned to the ground.**_

_**Tigress had won the match.**_

"_**And TIGRESS has taken one step closer to becoming a kung fu master!" the announcer said as the crowd cheered.**_

"_**NO!" 14 year-old Daiyu punched the ground and glared hard at Tigress, "I'll kill you!" she roared and ran to her, even if the match was over.**_

_**The security guards, in which were there for exactly that purpose, restrained the angry panther and took her away, "You stole my life Tigress! I'll have my revenge!" were Daiyu's last words before she was taken away.**_

_**Tigress's ears flattened as her master approached her, she looked at him and he nodded "Come." Shifu said and she did as told; following him home.**_

…

"I was meant to be one of the great, powerful kung fu masters of the valley of peace! I was the one who was supposed to have friends and family! I was the one who was supposed to be loved! But YOU took that all away from me! ALL OF IT!" Daiyu roared as the two fought.

Tigress was having a hard time keeping up with her, the amount of Chi Daiyu was releasing and speed she had was overwhelming for the tiger master.

"And after that match, the master I was assigned to was useless if I couldn't win against you! I left and tried to find the right master for me; I found an old woman, a wolf, she taught me to call out my Chi and use it against my enemies and heal myself as well!" she said, grinning like a maniac.

She then lifted her paws in the air, speaking a command in a language Tigress did not understand; suddenly branches and roots shot out of the ground under the tiger, tangling around her limbs and torso.

Tigress struggled in between the roots and branches but didn't manage to get free as they tightened around her painfully; she groaned in pain but refused to scream.

"It's your damn fault!" Daiyu repeated; her paws glowed yellow as she tightened her fists, at the same time the roots tightening around Tigress, to the point where she almost couldn't breath.

"What are you talking about…?" the tiger master gasped, glaring down at the black jade, "I never did anything to you for it to be my fault; you were just never meant to get the things you wanted!"

Daiyu's pupils dilated in fury, "Shut up!"

"My life became a living hell because of you! You ridiculed me and caused me to be alone all this time! Nobody had ever loved me! I never had any friends or felt the love of a parent! It's all YOUR FAULT!" Daiyu screeched in the tiger's face and threw a punch at Tigress, empowered by her magic.

Tigress spit out blood, realizing that when Daiyu punched her the hold on the roots loosened a bit…

"No… it wasn't… my fault… you had the chance… to be happy… many times… but you chose… to ease your jealousy… and get your revenge, instead of trying to make your life better! You made your life hell… all by yourself!" Tigress gasped out, glaring at Daiyu.

Thos words made Daiyu's pupils shrink in fury and an incredible amount of hate.

Daiyu roared and lifted her claws, "DIE!"

…

**Raven: holy shit that took a while… blah… I'm out of juice; I hope I satisfied you enough. Now you understand why Daiyu hates Tigress etc. **

**Note: Mao means CAT in Chinese, so the Mao Orphanage was filled with feline cubs ONLY.**

**I was curious as to why Tigress was the only predator in the Bao Gu orphanage when Po was explaining to the bunnies about her past. So I thought this up :P **

**And if anyone knows, please tell me what "Bao Gu" means?**


	11. Chapter 11: the power to protect

…

**Chapter eleven: the power to protect**

Po had managed to climb all the way to the top of the roof, he looked over the edge of the building and grinned cheekily, proud of himself; but his smile immediately faded as he heard a yell of pain.

His eyes widened a bit in fear at the sight of scary branches pulling out of the ground and tangling Tigress in their death grip.

He whimpered slightly, but none of the two felines noticed him.

But then he saw the panther punch Tigress hard, a bit of blood trickling down the tiger's chin. He noticed that she was in pain.

Po narrowed his eyes and furrowed his brows; that lady was hurting Tigress!

He didn't like it at all! She was being mean to his Tigress!

With an angry, panda-shout, the young cub ran towards the two felines as fast as his little legs could take him.

…

Daiyu roared and lifted her claws, "DIE!"

Tigress prepared for the blow.

_Chomp_

Daiyu paused and her eyes widened, her leg tingling as the panther gave a questionable "eh?!"

Tigress was for a moment confused as to why Daiyu stopped, but then the two felines looked down…

Po was biting Daiyu's leg as hard as he could.

He had little teeth growing, even if they weren't much; it didn't hurt Daiyu at all, but it was noticeable enough to make her turn.

It would have looked rather comical if it weren't for the situation.

Daiyu lifted her brows and chuckled, "how cute!" she sneered and went to kick the cub off.

But the distraction made the vines loose their hold on Tigress even more; this gave Tigress enough time to break free. And just when Daiyu went to kill her, she was kicked back in the face.

Daiyu stumbled back as Tigress broke free of the vines.

Po grunted as the force had thrown him back, he got back up on his fours and shook his head free of dust and rubble.

He looked to see Tigress before him; she picked him up in her arms, "Thank you Po" she smiled only slightly but regained her attention to the snarling panther a bit away from them.

…

The five had been running for hours on end. It was already very dark out and could barely see in front of them in the darkness. But they managed; it was way past midnight, the moon their only source of light.

They were halfway there…

"Master Shifu! Can we rest here for a second? I'm exhausted…" Crane huffed as they all stopped to see their bird friend lagging behind.

"Crane's right… we need energy if we're to fight Tai Lung and Daiyu…" Viper said, also out of breath.

Shifu said nothing, but nodded and the five warriors sat down to catch their breath for a bit.

They sat there in silence for a few minutes.

"Do you think Tigress and Po are going to be okay?" Mantis asked.

"Of course they will, I'm sure Tigress can hold them off long enough" Viper replied.

"…"

Again silence…

"Well, we better-" Monkey started but was cut off by Shifu, making a quick hand gesture to shut their mouths.

Shifu's ears twitched.

He scanned the area around them, his eyes and ears acting like sonars as he looked around.

The red panda got up, listening more intently this time…

His eyes widened but the others looked confused "Master Shifu what's-"

"MOVE!" he yelled and the others obeyed by reaction.

Just as the words left his mouth, a forced came down in lightning speeds and crashed into the ground where they all were seconds before; the ground crumbled under the force of the attack, dirt flew everywhere.

Just as the dust subsided, two yellow cat-like orbs appeared, glowing in the moonlight; they were attached to a rather buff body.

"Tai Lung!" Crane gasped as the leopard stood up straight and sneered at them, specifically Shifu.

"What a shame… I was hoping to take you all down with one blow; but I guess I got my hopes up" Tai Lung snarled.

Shifu narrowed his eyes but said nothing as Tai Lung glared at Shifu "Hello _master_, we meet yet again!" the clouded leopard spit out the word and sneered.

The red panda merely glared, "Where's Tigress and Daiyu?" he demanded.

Tai Lung chuckled, "They're in a bit of a cat-fight at the moment, though I think Daiyu might have already wiped that annoying tiger out by now"

Shifu narrowed his eyes into slits, "You four go and help Tigress, I will handle Tai Lung alone" he spoke to the ones behind him, but never glanced away from Tai Lung.

"But master-"

"GO!" he ordered and took a fighting stance.

The four nodded and reluctantly obeyed, they went to leave.

Just as they made their escape, Tai Lung attacked them and went to crush Viper who was the first out of there.

Viper gasped and dodged just in time as another figure forced Tai Lung away from the four warriors.

Tai Lung caught his balance and glared "I am your opponent" Shifu said as the others escaped.

Tai Lung gave a toothy grin, his eyes glinting, "You worn out old rat, I'll crush your bones and this time… there is nobody to help you out like before!" he roared and pounced forward as he and Shifu engaged in a brutal battle once more.

…

Daiyu roared, "That little runt! I'll make sure to roast your precious panda over the fire when I'm done with you!"

Tigress snarled in reply, "Over my dead body!"

The panther sneered, "Your dead body is what I've always wanted to see! It would be a great addition for the worms!" she spat and prepared for an attack.

Tigress tensed; ready to attack too.

"**Hey Tigress!" a voice called out and the now-six year old turned to see her best friend for life, Daiyu.**

"**Hey Daiyu! What's that?" she asked as the panther sat next to the tiger on the grassy field full of fresh flowers; it was spring.**

"**Happy birthday!" The black cub showed her the present proudly, it was messily wrapped, "I made it myself!" Daiyu added.**

**Tigress grinned happily, "Thank you!" she ripped the wrap off and opened the box to see a sculpture made by Daiyu herself, it was a figure of a feline in a fighting position, stripes painted messily on it; it was poorly made and you could barely make out the shape, but it was all the young cub could ask for.**

**Daiyu beamed, "You like it?"**

"**Wow! It's amazing! I love it!" Tigress squealed and placed it on the ground near the tree to take to her room later.**

"**That's great! Wanna play now?" Daiyu asked and Tigress nodded; "Wanna play 'warriors'?" Tigress asked and Daiyu nodded eagerly, "Okay!" the two grinned and went on all fours, growling playfully, circling each other.**

"**Grrr! I'm going to beat you!" Daiyu giggled and Tigress did the same, "No way!"**

**They jumped towards each other.**

They jumped towards each other, claws outstretched and snarls present on their faces; the two collided, punches and kicks flying.

Daiyu went for a low swipe but Tigress jumped up and landed down a kick towards the panther's head, but she dodged quickly and attacked again just as fast.

They fought for a long time…

Finally, the two skid away from each other, breathing heavily, dirty, wounded and tired.

There was no sun yet, but it was close to dawn.

Daiyu staggered, she had used much of her Chi and shook her head to regain her balance.

Tigress was no better; she was exhausted, her muscles ached and she barely managed to stand.

But she had to take down Daiyu if Po were to be safe.

She needed to protect him.

"You know Daiyu… if you never came to this… we could have remained friends forever, just like we used to say…" Tigress panted, her limbs slightly shaking from the abuse and her fur disheveled.

Daiyu snarled fiercely, "Maybe we could have if you hadn't betrayed me… you traitor… you… broke the promise…" she huffed for air, exhaustion taking a toll on her body too…

"**Promise we'll be friends forever?"**

"**Promise! Forever and ever!"**

The palace was damaged badly, along with the rest of the area.

"I never broke the promise Daiyu, you did." The tiger master replied and growled, "Get it in your thick skull that I never did anything to hurt you, it was you who made the wrong choices and actions."

Po stood farther away from the two, when they stopped; he crawled over to Tigress and hugged her leg.

Tigress looked down to see the cub looking up at her slightly worried, a small smile tugged at her lips at that.

Daiyu hissed, glaring hatefully at Tigress, she hated the fact that she was loved by everyone and she especially hated the fact that the panda stared lovingly at the tiger even now.

"I don't care what you have to say; or what could have been…" Daiyu stood up straight and took her fighting stance "right now the only thing that would make me happy is to see you dead!"

Daiyu had slowly healed herself while they had their small breather; she was now in better shape then Tigress.

"Tough luck with that!"

Four figures landed in front of Tigress and Po.

It was Crane, Monkey, Viper and Mantis.

"Tigress has more important things to do then just die!" Monkey said, "Yeah! She has a cub to take care of!" Mantis winked at the exhausted tiger, who was cradling a white and black ball of fluff.

Tigress was never more grateful to see them in her life.

…

**Raevix (I chose a more original name): **

**Don't say anything! I know what you're thinking! "WELL IT'S ABOUT TIME!" **

**Yup it was ^^;**

**I've been kinda lazy and more focused on my book rather then fanfiction, so yeah. Ehehehe…**

**Anyway, don't worry, I told you that I won't give the stories up. I'm just slow with them. Enjoy and I assure you that we are only a few chapters away from the end! I'll update soon too! You don't have to remind me :P**


	12. Chapter 12: Inner peace

**Chapter twelve: Inner peace.**

Daiyu snarled, "Oh look, your friends are here, might as well enjoy the show!" She snarled as the four attacked.

The four masters fought Daiyu and were getting the upper hand.

Daiyu dodged kicks and punches, somehow growing more furious with each passing second, "Get out of my way!" she roared and twirled herself around and golden Chi escaped her and threw the four masters back.

They staggered back, breathing heavily "She's tough! Even when she's tired!" Mantis commented "but that's nothing! Ha!"

"Are you okay Tigress?" Viper asked and the tiger nodded, "thanks guys" she said and the others nodded, grinning, "Hey, if we live through this maybe we could help you with Po sometime later, I'll feed him! What's family for, right?" Crane shouted back in a slight joke.

Tigress placed little Po down as the cub looked up at her and gave her a toothless smile. Yup, still the same Po. Even during fights, he smiles. She nuzzled his cheek and purred as the cub cooed, that little baby squeak erupting from his throat.

Tigress smiled, she felt calm for some reason.

But her smile faded when Daiyu snarled in rage, the hate engulfing her.

The moment the word **'family'** escaped Crane's mouth was when the panther snapped.

She gave a sadistic chuckle, her eyes widening in insanity "You won't live through this, I can promise you that" she said darkly.

Suddenly, Chi blasted around Daiyu, her fit of rage coming back in terrifying new levels.

"You're not going to have a family, I'm going to murder them all! If I won't have a family, neither will you!" she yelled.

Po's eyes widened at the scary sight and whimpered, hiding behind her leg, "Goo?" he asked worryingly as his big green eyes looked at her.

The five kung fu warriors shielded themselves as the wind blew around them harshly; they felt the heat coming from Daiyu's Chi; the Panther roared as her eyes were engulfed in yellow light.

And then, a large blast of wind shook the land, anything weighing lighter than a tree was blown away.

The kung fu masters were thrown back by the force, Monkey managed to grab a tree, Mantis holding on to the ape. Viper tangled herself around a stray wooden pole and managed to catch crane before he was blown away too.

Tigress growled as she leaned down on all fours, her claws digging deep into the ground to remain in her place, crouching above Po to shield him from the roaring wind.

A ball of energy started forming in Daiyu's paws, the golden sphere getting bigger and bigger by the second.

…

Shifu stood, breathing hard, wounded and exhausted.

Tai Lung stood a little bit away, also breathing rapidly, but not as wounded as Shifu was, he chuckled, "You really have worn out, old man" the Leopard sneered.

Shifu knew this couldn't keep up, he was indeed old, he wouldn't last much longer.

Tai Lung chuckled, "You know, if it weren't for you, I could have died out in the cold that night" the leopard tapped his finger on his chin in a thinking gesture, "You probably regret ever taking me in, correct?" he chuckled.

Shifu stared at his ex-student, memories flooding his mind; at one time, yes, he had regretted it.

But…

The day before Oogway had passed away, they had a little talk about Tai Lung.

"**Why did I even take him in?!" Shifu shouted, pulling his ears as he still had yet to find inner peace.**

**Oogway had been sitting there, listening to him ramble on for quite a while.**

"**It doesn't make sense! Nothing ever makes sense! Things weren't supposed to turn out this way! I regret the day I found him!" he punched the ground, leaving a small dent in the process.**

"**Are you done Shifu?" his master asked and Shifu turned to look at his master, "…yes." **

**Oogway stood, "Regretting something you had once cherished only imprisons you, in order to find peace, one must let it all go; do not despair in what is gone, smile because you had done what you did that brought you happiness and learned something when it brought you pain."**

Shifu had no idea what Oogway meant that day, even after he had found inner peace.

Shifu opened his eyes to see Tai Lung waiting for his answer.

He now understands.

"No, I don't regret taking you in" he said and Tai Lung's cocky grin faded, "what?"

"If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have understood many things" Shifu started, standing up straight.

Tai Lung took a step back, his brows furrowing, "what are you talking about, old man?" he growled.

A small smile cracked on Shifu's dry lips, "I had taken you in, raised you as my own son, you taught me how to love" he started, limping closer to Tai Lung as the leopard started shifting uncomfortably, "when you betrayed me, I had felt the pain of loss, I understood my mistakes but I tried to hide from them instead of learning from them."

Tai Lung narrowed his yellow eyes, confusion swirling in their depths.

"And because of that I had made mistakes with my other pupils as well… When Po defeated you, I felt peace, thinking that I didn't have any worries anymore, I didn't have to worry about facing my past."

Shifu and Tai Lung stood across from each other, a few meters away, "But now… now that you stand before me once again, I understand that I have to face my past with no regrets. Everything I did, I might have not done it right, but I now I understand that I wouldn't have done it otherwise. I did what I exactly had to do; I trained each of my pupils exactly how I was supposed to."

The leopard growled, his muscles tensing.

"I now know that you could not learn from life and seek true happiness without pain. You were my student and I loved you, I cherished my time with you, so I do not regret it anymore." Shifu finished as Tai Lung went rigid.

The feline roared in rage at those last words, "Pathetic!" he sneered and attacked, "You wasted your breath on me old man, I don't care about what you think or feel!"

The two then engaged in a battle once more.

Shifu cracked a smile as he dodged Tai Lung's attacks, "Maybe not, but I find that I still care about you, even now."

The leopard snarled at those words, Shifu noticed that Tai Lung's attacks were becoming sloppy.

"Shut up!" the leopard roared; swiping his claws at Shifu but missed, ripping apart a tree instead; his attacks weren't as strategic or powerful as before.

It was then that Shifu felt it… true peace.

His mind was clear, he had no regrets, he wasn't hiding anymore; he fought Tai Lung without hesitating.

But he noticed the leopard acting strangely.

The two clashed, their fists pushing against each other, fighting for dominance and Tai Lung looked down at him as Shifu spoke, "I may have done some wrong, I could not change it, but you know as much as I do that I am sincerely sorry."

Tai Lung snarled, something cracking inside his cold eyes "I don't care about what you say old rat! I want you dead!"

"Do you?"

Their eyes clashed and Tai Lung had the urge to look away, but his stubbornness resented that thought.

Just then, memories flooded the leopard's mind. He tried to shake them away but he didn't manage to.

"Do you really want me dead Tai Lung?" Shifu asked again when he didn't receive a straight answer from the feline.

…

"I'LL DESTROY YOU" Daiyu roared over the howling barrages of wind.

Tigress's eyes squinted from the wind, and looked down to see Po.

His eyes were shut tight, holding his paws over his ears to block out the scary noises. He whimpered in fear, he then glanced up at Tigress, willing her to scare away his fears.

He depended on her; he needed her to protect him… he needed her.

Tigress looked up at Daiyu, she didn't snarl, she didn't shout.

The wind stopped as the ball of energy grew ten times bigger then the panther herself.

Daiyu was using all her power on this attack.

Tigress closed her eyes.

'_You need Inner peace Tigress… and I can not give it to you…'_ Shifu's voice echoed in her mind.

She looked down to see Po.

'…_But maybe he can'_

She closed her eyes, taking in a deep breath.

**"Uh… here comes… the… uh… birdie!" she sang awkwardly, trying to feed Po once more, the baby giggled, opening his mouth while doing so and she placed the food in it; he ate them.**

'_But master… how?'_

**"Shhh… don't be scared, I'm here… Tigress is here… its okay" she whispered, stroking his back with her paw in a way to calm him down.**

"_That is something you will have to realize yourself"_

**She smiled, "You think you could escape me?" Po gave her a pout, "Bah!" he replied, his eyebrows furrowing, he stuck his tongue out at her and the tiger lifted a brow at him, a full-blown smile gracing her face.**

Daiyu, with a loud roar, shot the ball towards Tigress and her companions behind her, destroying everything in its path.

It was enough power to bring the entire jade palace down in one strike.

The four warrior's eyes widened, "Run!" they jumped out of the way, but Tigress didn't move.

The ball of destruction inched closer to her, its heat approaching as its deadly figure quickly went to destroy the tiger.

"Tigress!" her friends shouted, but their yells fell on deaf ears.

Tigress got up, gently placing Po behind her; remembering the movements that Shifu taught Po when achieving inner peace.

She mimicked them, feeling calm, despite Death approaching her.

One thing was on her mind.

Protect Po.

She spread her hands in front of her in her famous tiger-attack technique…

The sphere collided with its target.

…

**Raevix: heeeeyyy… long time no see, right? Hehehe…. *scratches head nervously***


	13. Chapter 13: Metamorphosis

**Chapter thirteen: Metamorphosis **

Tai Lung's breaths came out in short gasps, he staggered away from the red panda; he hated that look in his eyes! He hated the fact that the old rat didn't hesitate or showed any negative emotions! He hated that his expression didn't hold anything but love and pride! He hated him! He hated him! He hated him!

'_Do you really want me dead Tai Lung?'_ his ex-master's words echoed in his mind.

The red panda awaited his answer and a dead silence fell heavy upon the area, as if nature itself was also waiting for the answer…

The silence made the leopard even more furious than he was before…

"YES!"

The word echoed loudly around the silent land.

Shifu didn't look surprised or hurt, his expression never wavered; the old warrior just stood there; the only movement he did was stand up straight and lift his hands to join in a prayer-position, his long sleeves covering them as he bowed, accepting the leopard's answer.

Tai Lung's eyes widened at the next sentence that left Shifu's lips.

"Then you may kill me, I will not fight you any longer." The red panda kept his head in a slight bow, his eyes closed.

Tai Lung stood there for a moment, his wide eyes then narrowed as he snarled and charged at Shifu, "I'll rip you apart!" he roared, flexing his claws wide to aim for the kill.

The red panda did nothing, he didn't say anything; he only waited for his student's final strike.

The leopard closed the distance and gave a loud yell as he lifted his claws, bringing them down on Shifu…

…

"TIGRESS! PO!" Viper yelled as the four warriors stared in horror.

BOOM!

The giant ball of yellow light collided with Tigress... the wind blowing around harshly and the loud noise of a huge clash was heard all around; the warriors shielded their eyes from the sheer brightness of it.

Nobody could live through that blow! Lord Shen's fire balls were nothing compared to that attack! Not even Tigress who had trained at the ironwood trees for 20 years! Not even the strength and solidness her body provided her would be able to stand against that Chi! She'll be torn apart!

But when they cracked their eyes open to see what happened… four pairs of eyes widened in shock at what they saw.

The fiercely twisting yellow sphere had stopped moving forward… it didn't go any further…

They looked again, only to gasp.

Tigress had her arms outstretched… the ball of energy pushing at her palms as she stood firmly her ground… the sphere roared in its yellow flames, still twisting around itself violently as the ground underneath it burned and was torn apart the more it spun, dirt flying up from its violent movements… it tried to push through… but Tigress held it in place.

Daiyu's eyes remained a glowing yellow, watching with fury as Tigress battled to keep the Chi from going any farther.

The tiger's body struggled slightly as the sphere pushed and pushed forward… sweat started forming on her brow as her paws started burning, the fur on her arms started sizzling from the heat… she couldn't hold it for long… the panther was adding more energy to her attack.

Tigress's feet started shifting back as the energy pushed harder against her.

The tiger warrior weakened by the second… there's no way she would be able to hold it…

"Goo?" a little voice was heard and Tigress's eyes shifted down…

Behind her stood Po, his big green eyes looked at her with worry and fear, the tiger gritted her teeth as the sphere pushed even harder… if this keeps up not only will she break her arms, but burn to ash…

Po's eyes watered, he was afraid… he didn't want Tigress to die!

"Ti…" he started, trying to form a word; a sniff escaping the cub, "Tigw…" he said louder... but the sounds drowned out his small voice.

Tigress shut her eyes. Po needed her, her friends needed her… the jade palace and even the valley of peace would be destroyed if she gave up!

She can't give up!

But she was weakening… her body couldn't put up with the strain…

"TIGWESS!" a child's cry loudly ripped through the air.

Her eyes snapped open wide, her amber eyes spotting the young panda cub… tears staining his cheeks as he grabbed her leg tightly, as if begging her not to give up.

"Tigwess! …Tigwess! …TIGWESS!" he screamed the last part, shutting his eyes tightly.

Amber eyes snapped up at the ball of light, pupils dilating with rage, their depths burning as bright as the Chi in front of her… her inner spirit snarled.

She will never give up.

"RAAAAAAARRRRRRGGGHHHH!" A loud, terrifying roar ripped through the air.

The sound could have been heard by the entire village… a kind of sound that would put a lion to shame. It was the scream of fury… the furious yell that only someone who was determined to protect their loved ones could make.

That terrifying sound was made by Tigress, her strength suddenly reached ten fold as she pushed against the sphere of energy…

With the last of her strength, she gathered up all her power…

And gave one last shove…

"WHAT?!" Daiyu yelled in shock as the sphere of energy was suddenly hurling towards her way.

She had no time to move out of the way as Tigress had thrown the panther's own attack back at her.

"NO!" The black feline then gave a scream of pain as her own Chi collided with her being.

It burned the panther alive as a long painful screech tore through the atmosphere…

The sphere collided with Daiyu, but it didn't go any further, seeming to only destroy her being as it twisted violently around her…

With one last scream heard, the yellow sphere exploded outward, the power hummed through the air as a huge wave of wind blew everything back with the explosion.

Golden dust remained in place as the air became still again…

…

There was silence… nothing seemed to move as the world held its breath…

Shifu opened his blue eyes in puzzlement; he didn't feel any pain…

Large deadly claws hung over a few centimetres away from his small body… but didn't touch a hair on him.

He looked up to see Tai Lung, not an inch away… the snarl was still present on his face… but his expression was somewhat different than before.

Shifu could hear the leopard's raspy breathing as he felt the feline's breath on his face; his muscled chest heaving as the red panda stood unmoving, his own breathing even and calm.

"What's the matter Tai Lung?" he asked sincerely and his ex-student seemed to grit his teeth, a low growl escaping his throat.

Tai Lung's paws shook slightly, struggling to bring them forward and end Shifu's life once and for all, but his yellow eyes seemed to shift… they were swirling with anger and confusion.

"Why are you hesitating?" the old red panda added.

The old warrior found himself surprised when the claws were brought down… dust and dirt flew up from the impact as Tai Lung's deadly paws landed harshly on the ground on either side of Shifu.

There was a small pause before Tai Lung opened his mouth to let out a long, furious yell.

"AAARRRGGHHH!"

Shifu stood there, eyes wide as he watched Tai Lung sprint off on all fours, his figure becoming smaller and smaller until disappearing completely as the leopard ran away…

"…Tai Lung…" his surprised expression melted, the corner of his mouth lifting upward, "…You're still there…"

…

Tigress stood there, fur dishevelled and dirty, clothes ripped, paws burned and body exhausted… she stood to look at where the huge Sphere had taken an impact on the panther.

The air still hummed with energy, still fresh in the atmosphere.

Daiyu was gone… her attack had destroyed her completely… not even a shred of fur was left… she had been obliterated…

Tigress's enemy was dead.

And yet… the tiger master felt no relief…

"Wow! Tigress you did it!" Mantis yelled in shock, "You beat her!" Monkey added.

"You found inner peace" Crane said as their friends looked at her in amazement.

Tigress said nothing, she staggered, exhaustion taking in… "Whoa! Take it easy… maybe you should sit down…" Viper said as she and her friends steadied Tigress.

But the tiger shook her head, "I'm fine…" she rasped out as she stared at the small crater in the ground…

"**Hey Daiyu, do you really think we could be heroes one day?" a five year old tiger cub asked.**

**"Definitely! We're gonna be awesome! Fight the bad guys and run off into the sunset! Like in the stories! What do you say Tigress? Wanna be heroes?" a young panther replied, stretching out her pinkie finger for her friend to take.**

**Tigress grinned; "Yeah!" she chirped and locked her own pinkie with Daiyu's.**

"Heh… yeah… heroes…" the tiger master murmured, kneeling down… her chest clenching as she placed a paw on the burned dirt… she closed her eyes to keep the water at bay.

"You were a hero too, Daiyu… you just didn't know it…" Tigress said as everyone else remained silent.

She stood up and turned to look at her friends.

Soon they turned to see a figure approaching… master Shifu…

They all quickly went to him, "Master Shifu!"

He nodded at his students, "What happened to Tai Lung?" Crane asked and Shifu smiled slightly, much to everyone's surprise, "He will come back" was all he said and looked at the damage on the jade palace, "Now let's get everything cleaned up, shall we?" he added and the five agreed.

But a girlish yelp they knew all too well ripped through the air, "Whoa! WHOA! DUDE! What happened?!"

Tigress froze; her eyes remained locked on the crater as everyone else turned to see a most familiar face.

A large, chubby panda was shifting uncomfortably as he used a broken wooden blank to cover himself up as five of the six warriors turned to look at him.

"Well, well, well! If it isn't our favourite panda! What's the matter Po? Loose your pants?" Mantis laughed.

Po shifted uncomfortably, "Hey guys… what's going on? Why do you guys look like you were in a battle? Why is the palace messed up? And why, might I ask, am I NAKED?!"

…

**Rae: HEY! Guys! We're reaching the end of the story! And I must admit I was really flattered when one of you guys told me the story could pass as KFP3! Thank you so much! Just one more chappie to go!**


	14. Chapter 14: Amnesia

**Chapter fourteen: Amnesia**

"Whoa! Whoa! Hold up a sec, time out! So… let me get this straight… I was turned into a baby… and you guys got to have all the fun and kick butt?! That is SO not fair!" Po whined, crossing his arms in a huff as the guys laughed, "Aw, don't worry, Po! You could kick butt next time!" Mantis chuckled. They were all sitting at the table, having lunch; only a few things were left to clean up.

It had been 3 days since Po was back to normal, after the jade palace was… _presentable enough_ and the warriors had enough energy to stand up again, they had explained everything to Po.

The five warriors were chatting, while two of them were silent.

Shifu ate his meal quietly, letting his students chat and joke, however, he noticed the tense atmosphere in the air that the rest seemed to not notice.

Tigress stared at her meal, a blank expression on her face. In fact, her mind was blank, no thoughts passed her at all; she just blanked when it seemed that Po remembered nothing of his time as a cub.

But nobody had told him about his time spent with her. Not even Tigress herself. They didn't know… nobody knew. Just Tigress, only she knew everything that happened… nobody will ever know… it was just a memory now.

They just explained their hunt for Daiyu and the battle… a.k.a. whatever everyone else knew.

"Aw man! WHY do I always miss the good stuff? That Daiyu lady sure sounded pretty strong! I can't believe I was a baby…" he grumbled, crossing his arms.

"I'm sure you were more of a challenge than Daiyu, Po" Monkey cackled and punched his arm in a friendly gesture as the three males teased the panda. "You guys will never let me live this down, will you?" Po groaned and Mantis chuckled, "Sorry Po, but it's too priceless!"

The five looked at Tigress, Viper seemed slightly worried for the tiger; she hadn't spoken in a while.

"Hey Tigress, why don't you tell Po about what you had to go through with his baby self!" Crane laughed; however, there was a shocked silence when a slam echoed in the kitchen they were sitting in.

Tigress had slammed her paw down on the table and the chair scraped across the floor as she got up, dangerously quiet…

"There is nothing to tell" she calmly said, making the six warriors look at her, some in confusion and the rest in worry.

And with that said, the tiger turned around and walked out of the room.

"What's _her_ problem? She's giving us the silent treatment or something?" Po asked, puzzled at her behavior lately. Tigress had refused to speak to Po since he turned back to normal; even when he spoke to her she just turned around or left and pretended she didn't hear him at all.

There was a moment of silence from the five warriors in the room with Po.

"Why is she acting like she hates me?" he muttered, his short black ears flattening slightly, but then the large panda gasped in worry, eyes wide in bafflement, "Was I THAT bad as a cub?"

"No Po, she's just-" Viper sighed, somewhat understanding the tiger, "Just leave her alone for now, I'll go talk to her." the snake said and slid off her chair, slithering over to where Tigress left to.

Shifu gave a small grunt, not making eye contact with anyone as he continued to calmly sip at his noodle soup.

Po eyed him suspiciously, "Hey, you know what's wrong with Tigress, don't you Master Shifu?" he said and the red panda finally looked up at him, "You DO know! Tell me, what did I do? Why is she so mad at me?" Po added, his green eyes looking at Shifu with worry and eagerness to know.

"She is not mad at you, however, it is not my place to say why she's acting like she does" The red panda stated and stood as well, "I shall go meditate now, if you need me I'll be inside the palace" and with that said, he left, leaving Po more confused than ever, "Okay guys, seriously… what?"

"I don't know" Monkey shrugged, none of the guys understood.

How could they understand?

…

Viper had followed Tigress and spotted her sitting under the peach tree, staring off into the mountains.

"Tigress" Viper started, placing herself next to her friend, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine" Tigress snapped, eyes narrowed, she had an irritated, almost bored look on her face, but Viper could see a lingering sadness swirling in her eyes.

"You didn't want Po to change back… did you?"

That question caught the tiger master off guard and her eyes widened for a sec, however, she quickly caught herself, turning to Viper with a glare, "I don't know what you're talking about; it's obvious he would have changed back, I expected it after all. Besides, why would I want him to stay as a baby? He was annoying as a cub" Tigress deadpanned, her stare would have made anyone cringe, but Viper knew better.

"You can't fool me Tigress; I know you loved taking care of him." The snake replied, noticing her friend tense up with each word, "He made you feel important."

"…" Tigress remained silent, the blank façade returning to her face as she stared ahead.

The snake mistress sighed, her body uncoiling from her 'sitting' position, "You know Tigress, there could always be a possibility for him to gain his memory again."

"Oh yeah? And how do you know?" The tiger asked flatly, her tail flicking in annoyance.

"I don't know…" the snake replied unsurely, she didn't want to get Tigress's hopes up too high, "but it could be possible, I mean, that spell could have changed his body, but I don't think it changed his mind or way of thinking."

Tigress gave a grunt, "Don't be stupid, it's impossible, Po said he doesn't remember anything… so no memory will come back. Besides, even if it did, what difference would it make?"

Viper frowned, "That depends on you Tigress, but you can't keep ignoring Po like this, he's getting upset; you are his best friend after all."

"…just go away" Tigress growled and grabbed a rock from the ground, crushing it in her palm to try and calm her nerves.

The snake nodded, "Alright Tigress, I'll leave you to think" was all she said before slithering away.

…

The warriors were fixing up the last damages. Po was handing the nails to Monkey, whom was fixing up the roof of the jade palace.

Po glanced at Tigress, whom was silently picking up some heavy equipment lodged into the roof from the battle, dropping them down to the ground below to get rid of them later.

It's been almost a week and he was getting frustrated with Tigress ignoring him.

"Hey Tigress" he cleared his throat and shifted nervously, placing the bucket of nails down, he went over to her, while she was walking back and forth, picking up and throwing down the last of the dislodged planks.

She ignored him, acting as if he was not there at all.

The panda frowned; "Um, I know you seem awfully grumpy lately, and I don't really want to bother you much and all" he started, scratching the back of his head "but why aren't you talking to me? I mean, even as I cub, I don't think I did anything wrong… right?" he said, his eyes shifting.

Tigress said nothing, ripping off a loose wooden board rather aggressively, making Po flinch… wow, her aura was scary… her body language pretty much hinted that she wanted to beat the crap out of him, but that was far from it, however, Po didn't know that, he had no idea what was wrong with her.

"Hey Po, I need some more nails!" Monkey shouted from the edge of the roof and Po turned to him for a moment, "Yeah, wait for a sec, I'm talking to-" he turned to look at the tiger in front of him… but she was gone.

He spotted her jumping off the roof down to the ground, walking away quickly.

"…Tigress." he finished his sentence in a mutter, his ears drooping and his expression saddening… he really didn't like the silent treatment she was giving him. He felt like she didn't like him anymore and that she wanted to cut off their friendship.

The chubby panda gave a defeated sigh and went over to Monkey, handing him the bucket of nails, "here…" he muttered.

Monkey frowned at the scene that had taken place, he looked down at Po whom had chosen to speak just then, "Monkey, do you know what's wrong with Tigress?"

The monkey sighed, shaking his head, "I'm not sure, but I think it has something to do with your amnesia" he said, talking more to himself than Po.

The panda looked at him in confusion, "Amnesia?"

"Yeah, you don't remember the time you spent with her, and I guess it upsets her…" he said, shrugging.

Po frowned, thinking for a moment… so she's upset because he can't remember?

Well then, he had to remember. He wanted to remember. If it were to make Tigress talk to him again, he'd achieve it no matter what!

Po shut his eyes tight, trying to recall anything as a cub…

After a few moments, the panda opened his eyes and his frown deepened… Nothing.

If he can't remember… then that means that Tigress won't talk to him anymore?

Monkey noticed his friend's sad expression, "Why don't you go talk to her about it? Maybe you could then sort things out."

The panda's head perked up, "Yeah! You know what, I will! Upset or not, I'll get her to talk to me! She could tell me what happened and then I might remember!" Po puffed out his chest and went to the edge of the roof, climbing down, determined to go and speak to Tigress.

"Hey wait! I didn't say NOW! We're not finished with the roof! I need the nails! PO!" Monkey yelled as the panda ran towards the direction where the tiger had gone.

…

It was sunset; Shifu had left the palace, deciding to go take a stroll.

The old red panda's walking stick clicked on the rock as he walked through the empty area, he closed his eyes, sighing in content as the breeze tickled his face.

However, his eyes opened when a quiet thud was heard behind him.

Yellow eyes glowed in the darkening forest.

Without turning around, Shifu knew who it was.

"Hello, Tai Lung."

…

**Rae: HOLY SHIT IT'S BEEN A YEAR SINCE I'VE UPDATED. O_O OMG I COMPLETELY FORGOT ABOUT THIS STORY. I'VE JUST BEEN SUPER BUSY D: 100000000 times sorry! T_T please don't yell! *hides under table***


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